Adios Nicaragua

Our wireless Internet connection doesn’t like photographs this early morning, so I’m afraid this is a text-only post. Too bad, because I have some neat images to share. They’ll have to wait until five-six days from now, when we’ll be tied up at the dock at Acapulco Yacht Club.

Our 20-hour visit to Nicaragua has been wonderful, and all three of us wouldn’t mind staying. the marina. Marina Puesta Del Sol, is excellent, as are the people who staff it. The food is good, the beer is cold, and the service is great.

When we arrived yesterday, we were told to wait on a mooring until the authorities arrived. We were told it would be an hour, but of course it ended up being two. Once the authorities began arriving, we were allowed to dock the boat. The first set of authorities was two nurses, who checked us for symptoms of swine flu. It was a cursory inspection: “Say ahhh,” and a listen with a stethescope. We were pronounced healthy. The next set of officials included three civilians and a tough-looking Nicaraguan Army sergeant, who performed a semi-rigorous inspection and had me unscrew an access panel. He’s coming back this morning to give us our exit papers. While they were aboard, all these functionaries drank a week’s worth of our milk, Coke, and OJ, and consumed all the dark chocolate that none of us would eat.

As son as Sergeant Slaughter arrives, we’re off the dock and gone, bound for Mexico, 800 miles to the northwest. Once we arrive, I’ll post some pictures of a bird that hitched a ride (a seabird, rather than the usual suspects, lost land birds), a large volcano, and maybe even Sergeant Slaughter. Until then, vaya con dios, amigos.