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Apres maintenant une semaine au Costa Rica, je peux dire que le Nicaragua me manque de par

son integ ri ter et authenticite. Malgre que le Corta Rica semble avoir un peu plus de tresors naturels , il en est d'autant plus touristique ce qui de temps a autre gache un peu le plaisir. Il va sans dire que c'est toutefois un mau dit bea u pays!!! Nous nous sommes diriger vers la petite ville de Samara dans la peninsule du Nicoya pour debuter notre sejour Costa Ricain. Vraiment une charmante petite ville de quelques rues a peines. La plage etait superbe mais difficile de comparer avec celle d e Jiquilillo!!! Nous avons finalement decider de se louer un petit 4x4 pour se rendre a Montezuma et Santa-Theresa. Heureusement car nous avons eu droit a toute une aventure dans un chemin etroit, boueteux, avec de serieuses p entes qui donne sur des ravins. On a du traverser 5 petites rivieres sans parler de

celle s qui s'ecroulais sous notre voiture en descentant les chemins de boues!!! Une super histoire a raconter avec du recul ;) Nous sommes ensuite aller visiter le Parc National Cabo Blanco sur la poin te de la peninsule ou une agreable randonnee de 4 heures nous mene a une superbe plage remplis de Bernards l'herm ite, de gros lezards et de "white face Monkeys"!!! C'est vraiment genial etre en pleine nature et de rencontrer tout ces animaux. On a aussi vu des coatis, papillons bleus, armadillos et plus...
Nous sommes maintenant de passage a Jaco beach avant de se rendre demain a notre superbe villa Costa Ricaine pour la prochaine semaine! On se gate!!!



So far Costa Rica has been marked by abundant wildlife, nature and beaches. It's so lush and green here and w e are frequently entertained by the interesting wildlife around us (including the lazy dogs who usually lay out in th e middle of the streets without moving too quickly for oncoming traffic). We spent our first few days in Costa Rica at a wonderf ul beach called Samara, on the Nicoya Peninsula. From there, we met a Canadian couple with whom we rented a jeep and headed further south. We decided to spoil ourselves instead of taking a 10 hour bus ride. The road was ridden with potholes that would make even a Montrealer's eyes bulge out!!! We found a relaxing place to stay in Montezum a, a town o n the southern tip of the peninsula. Our first day there was really rainy so we decided to take advantage of having a jeep and drove off to a town ne arby (7km away). We were advised by our trusty american friend to take the ¨shorter¨ route because it would take less time. Well, it appears that he'd never been on this road in th e rain and let me tell ya, we were extremely happy to have 4x4 on our jeep! At times it was so steep and slippery that it took Maxime several tries to make it up. We went thru at least 5 small rivers, slipped and slid on the muddy and rough terrain and at times I would just remove my seatbelt to have a quick exit in case our jeep went flying off the deep c liffs (let's just say guardrails are not really popular in Costa Rica!). Luckily we lived to tell the story and once we got there (1 hour to drive for 7km!!!) we treated ourselves to a yummy lunch at Casa Zen (appropriate place to be to calm our shaken nerves!). After a few days in this surfer area, a walk in the beautiful jungle - where we saw tons o f awe some wildlife (maxime even found a stick to ¨protect¨us from a growling coati - we weren't too sure if it would attack or not), we headed to Jaco, another beach town where we'll just spend the night before meeting our Quebecois friends. We will join them tomorrow at the villa for a wonderful week set in the jungle near a national park and tons of beaches. Life is beautiful!!!

The interne t place is shuttting...goodnight and sweet dreams

Maxime et Brigitte xoxo

On the road again!

Notre benevolat se termine sur une notre tres positive. Vendredi, nous sommes aller visiter les Isletas, une archipelle de petites iles au bord de Grenada, Seulement 4 enfants sue 15 y etaient deja aller et c'est a cote de chez eux. Ils etaient vraiment exiter! Nous aussi d'ailleurs. Surtout quand un singe est monter dans notre bateau. Dure journee de travail quoi!!! Et pour finir, le samedi, nous avont fait un "pinata" party avec les jeunes. Du gateau, du coke et plein de bonbons. J'ai plus ou moins servis de pinata humaine alors que j'ai recu 2 ou 3 coups de batons. Les jeunes etaient hors de controle. De bon souvenirs nous allons garder de cette experience. Le samedi soir, les derniers adieux et le dimanche matin, nous quitions pour Laguna de Appoyo. C'etais tres different de se retrouver avec des touristes a nouveaux... dans un endroit superbe et en vacance. Enfin, superbe ne semble plus approprier maintenant que nous avons vraiment trouver un endroit digne de ce qualificatif. Apres une longue journee de transport local, nous arrivons finalement a Jiquilillo, un petit coin perdu au nord ouest du Nicaragua. Nous habitons dans un petit ranch ecolo sue le bord de la plage... grandiose!!! C'est dur a decrire. C'est un de ces endroit ou il faut y etre pour comprendre. Un atmosphere super relax, de la bonne nourriture, des gens vraiment sympatiques et ca continue comme ca!!! Quand ta vie se resume a manger, te baigner, lire et boire... tu te dis que tu en vacances. Nous y sommes rester 4 nuits pour ensuite se rendre a San Juan Del Sur. Pas tout a fait la meme atmosphere! Plein de monde, du bruit, des parties et des hotels sur la montagne ou tu peux boire et te baignes dans des "infinity pools". Le gros luxe! Ca fait du bien des fois. Nous quittons toutefois demain pour le Costa Rica! Bye bye Nicaragua!!! Ce fut tout un plaisir...

So here we are now, on a beautiful beach in southern Nicaragua (San Juan Del Sur). Hmmm...where did I last leave off...oh yes, I talked about our rewarding experience volunteering with the amazing Nicaraguan children. Well, we continued our week and at the end, we had a farewell fiesta which involved Maxime basically being a human target while the kids frantically tried to swing at the pinata to get their lollies and caramel candies! It was quite hilarious to watch as these kids narrowly missed Maxime...and unfortunately they sometimes got a little too excited and Maxime got a few swings on his knees and feet. What won't kill ya will only make you stronger! I truly appreciated their warmth and openness and recommend this type of travel to many. It really was an experience to be remembered and cherished forever. It will be repeated again I'm sure! After our work, we headed to a lovely laguna, in the crater of a volcano. Apparently it's really good for the skin, and besides that it's very relaxing. From there, back on the chicken buses and off to Jiquilillo, a wonderful fishing village in north western Nicaragua where the beach was vast and practically secluded. We did lots of body surfing in the powerful waves and Maxime even tried a bit of surfing. There weren't too many tourists and we stayed at this eco-friendly ranch where we got to meet lots of wonderful travellers. Was inspired by a 70 year old man who's travelled all over the world, looks like he's 55 and will be climbing Mt.Kilimanjaro with his wife next year! After those peaceful and rejuvenating days...there's something about the ocean that just brings a certain peace into my soul and body like nothing else....we're spending our last few days in Nicaragua in a surfer town and then we're off to Costa Rica tomorrow!
sending you lots of sunny hugs and happiness,

Brigitte et Maxime xo

Travailler, c'est trop dure...

Nous voila bel et bien en train de "travailler"!!! A chacun sa definition. En fait, on passe nos journees a jouer avec des enfants d'un bidonville. Ils sont tres attachants, sourriants, plein d'energie et tres pauvre. Ils sont aussi tres vigilents et vif d'esprits. Ca aide toujours un peu a mettre les choses en perspective! Sinon il fait chaud, tres chaud! Nous sommes aller monter le volcan Mombacho aujourd'hui. De supebes belles vue sur la region, de l'exercice et un peu d'air frais. Super belle journee sous un ciel bleu. (C'est quand meme rare ces temps ci... il pleut souvent) Notre mere hote, qui est plus jeune que nous, est super gentille et nous fait de bon petit plats tipique. Ca se ressemble souvent mais c'est quand meme bon. Elle est tres devouer a ses 2 petits enfants ainsi qu'a nous meme si on ne se comprends pas tres bien!!! Notre espagnol ne s'ameliore pas tres vite. Donc encore 2 jours de "travaille" et nous quittons Grenada. Nous etions supposer visiter les Corn Islands mais ils ont ete toucher pas l'ouragan donc ce n'est pas le meilleut temps. Il semble que les instalations sont un peu toucher ainsi que l'eau potable, limite. Alors nous irons surement dans le nord du Nicaragua pour voir d'autres petite merveilles de ce pays.

P.S.: Les gens ont deja decorer leurs arbres de Noel ici... ils sont vraiment motives!!!

Hola amigos!

Here we are in blazing hot Granada, Nicaragua, a lovely colonial town next to Nicaragua Lake. We're staying with a local family - mother and two small children, eating and living like the locals...very simple living, but even without much money they manage to laugh and have so much fun together. Very good vibes from them and all Nicaraguans. The kids at our place are so cute and cuddly and somehow can't fully comprehend that our spanish is very limited so it's quite amusing. The 4 year old girl was trying to teach us a game and somehow I seemed to be winning and Maxime was losing. She kept getting angry at him for not understanding, even drawing sad faces on his arms to express her disappointment!! :) Of course I gloated and took advantage of this surprising victory!!! hahahah!

We're doing our volunteer work in a shantytown next to Granada, working with kids at a community center. Like true canadians we taught them how to make paper snowflakes and also taught them how to play ultimate frisbee. Suprisingly they're naturals at throwing the frisbee! It's a lot of fun, and even funnier due to our minimal Spanish skills! Today we had the day off and climbed Volcano Mombacho under a blistering sun! The panoramic views of the town, lake, and lagoon were amazing! We heard the elusive howler monkeys, but unfortunately we didn't get to see them. We rewarded ourselves with a canopy tour where we flew down zip-lines above the trees. Felt like superwoman and superman! Marvelous! My legs and feet are a little tired, not much opportunity for pilates here, so trying to walk as much as possible. Gonna rest now and get ready for another adventure tomorrow...a field trip with our kids on the islands of Lake Nicaragua and then I'll teach a relaxation/stretching class to the women of the community (center is pretty sparse...not mats or reformers here...just concrete floor!).

Love and hugs,

Brigitte and Maxime xoxo

Apres une semaine

Voila maintenant une semaine que nous sommes partis et tout se passe tres bien! Premier contre-temps ce matin alors que nous venons tout juste de ratter le traversier pour partir de Isla de Ometepe, ou nous venons de passer les 3 derniers jours! Juste avant, nous etions au volcan Arenal ou nous n'avons pas vu de lava mais au moins quelques singes. Nous commencons tout juste a nous familiariser au fonctionnement et au coup de la vie. Apres nous etes fait avoir quelques fois, ca aide a apprendre vite!!! A part de ca, il fait noir tres tot ici et il pleut beaucoup. Nous sommes leve tres tot le matin et on ne veille pas trop tard. Ca a pris une bouteille de rum Flor de Cana 7ans pour nous aider a se coucher a 23h30!!! Pas facile! Nous sommes maintenant entrain d'attendre le prochain traversier pour se rendre a Granada ou nous allons faire notre benevolat. Bonne semaine de travail a tous... nous y compris!!!

Hey!
So here we are in Nicaragua, enoying the sun, the cows, the horses and the lovely lake views. We spent our first few days in Costa Rica, travelling on rickety buses, checking out Volcan Arenal (where there is supposed lava that streams down one side but unfortunately we weren´t lucky enough to spot it!). Because we were often on buses the first few days, we survived on plantain chips, cookies, and water! Our diets are better now, eating the typical food here, which consists of beans, rice, plantains and usually accompanied with some raw veggies. We just spent three wonderful days on Isla de Ometepe, relaxing in our cabana, which has a view of the Lake Nicaragua and the volcanoes. The pace of life is much slower here and we´re usually upby 6am and have a hard time making it past 9pm! It´s gets dark around 5.30pm here and since there´s not much happening, we end up hitting the sack pretty early! Last night we managed to make it to 11.30pm with Flor de Cana, 7 year old rum, and a loud birthday party next door! We checked out the abundant nature, rode bikes that made our butts ache and met some really nice local people. The people here are really amazing and friendly! Unfortunately this morning we did have some bad luck with our taxi driver as he never showed up! Made us miss our boat to Granada, and sort of messed up the rest of our day. We are just killing time until the next boat comes and then we´ll head up to Granada, a colonial town near the lake, where we´ll do our volunteer work. Our spanish is slowly but surely improving and all the locals are quite helpful with that too...right now we speaks mostly ´Spanglish´!
Adios amigos...hope all is well! peace,

Brigitte et Maxime xo