Tropical getaway for $20?!?!

Well now that I have everyone's attention... I have a confession, I am officially sick of winter. Right now it's snowing, and we have a winter storm warning, and I just want spring to come. I know I cannot possibly be alone in my miserly sentiments and thoughts of "What?!?! more f-ing snow?!?! Aren't we done yet?" So I want to get away, and go somewhere warm.
My Mom recently came down for a visit and had the exact same sentiments. We just wanted to not be cold and to not think about snow or the endless nature of New England winters for a couple hours. Our solution? The New England Aquarium! While the entrance fee is not as cheap as some other entertainment in Boston, it does cost a lot less then a round-trip ticket to Aruba. For three hours we wandered, enjoyed the heat and the exhibits, and forgot that we are in for at least another month of "wintery mix" as the weather channel euphemistically refers to the slush on the streets.
So if you too are looking out your window at the quickly accumulating snow and going "WHY GOD, WHY!?!" then cheer yourself up with a visit to your local aquarium (or inside botanical garden) and soak up enough warmth to last you till April, cause we're going to need it.

Adios

This would be a police dog rolling over for a tummy rub from a little girl. I would have taken a picture closer up but I was a little worried about what his reaction might be to me documenting his working dog in such an undignified manner.

Sadly, as all trips must, ours came to an end. It was hard saying goodbye to all the library staff we had come to know, and also difficult to part with the Nica lifestyle and great food!
So to say goodbye I'll leave everyone with an image of the hammocks (if you could experience lying in a Nicaragua hammock you'd know how special they are!) and of some of the beautiful flora of the country.

Adios Nicaragua, I will be back!

Pelican Eyes

We went to the Pelican Eyes several different times during our trip, for one thing they have a great happy hour two nights a week. The mojitos and macua (a local specialty) are fantastic!
We also hiked all the way up to the top one day to enjoy the pool and have some lunch. The view was amazing, looking out onto the harbor. All the whitewashed stairs and walls were radiant.

Here you can see the view looking out from the infinity pool, when I wasn't reading in the sun I was cooling off in the pool and taking in the view, what a way to spend the afternoon!

Beach Day!

We took one day off from the Library by taking a water taxi up the coast for a beach day. It was about 15-20 minutes by boat, but it was as pristine and beautiful as you could hope for.

Paradise!

We started out with a swim and then began to bake ourselves in the sun. It was soon apparent though why we were the only ones not in the shade and after an hour or so, most of us were sunned out and ready to move to the shade. Alternating between reading, sleeping and swimming was a fantastic way to pass a couple hours.
When it was time for the water taxi to come back we were all ready and eager, feeling a little crispy and pretty hungry. While I had been slathering myself with SPF 70, I apparently forgot several places and ended up with some great burns.
I wasn't alone with the sunburns though and we all took turns putting aloe on each other and comparing how crispy we were. The burns were well worth the great day at the beach though and all the beautiful views on the way there.

More San Juan del Sur

Since we spent several days in San Juan del Sur there was plenty of time to walk around, eat ice cream, sit in the hammock chairs, and look at stray dogs. Here you see some of our group walking back to the hotel after a yummy lunch at El Gato Negro, which also has a great book selection. While we were told about their amazing brownies, every time we tried to get some they were sold out. On our last morning there we woke up early just for a stealth brownie trip. Unfortunately we didn't get exactly what we were expecting. To say the brownies were gooey would have been an understatement, the one I shared with Stephanie was actually liquid. To be walking around with plastic baggies full of liquid brownies led to some laughs and pretty unsavory jokes that I'll let you imagine for yourselves.