Randall and Pablo joined us for the last few days of our road trip as they had a few days off for Easter weekend. We decided to spend Good Friday in typical Nicaraguan fashion – a relaxing day at the lake. The plan was to find a secluded place to cross skinny dipping off of Hen’s bucket list.
We hired locals with a boat to take us to a private part of the lake. They dropped us off and were to return in two hours. We had fun in the sun and cooled off in the water.
A Good Friday indeed.
But then things took a tumble. Specifically, Hen. While she was getting out of the water she slipped and fell — naked — and face-planted on a rock. Hen was plucked.
Though she didn’t make a sound, I knew it was serious when I saw blood dripping down her face. We urgently called the boat back – “MUY RAPIDO POR FAVOR!”
Helen tried to fall asleep but we wouldn’t let her, we were worried that she had a concussion. She countered that the only way she could stay awake was if we sang. So Randall accompanied her in a duet of “Love is an Open Door” from Frozen during the boat ride back to land.
I drove us to the hospital at a frantic speed and thankfully was not pulled over. Randall sat in the back and tended to Helen. We kept her awake the only way we could, by participating in her sing-along. I can’t remember being more scared.
In the hospital corridor.
Getting an x-ray. That’s not Helen’s blood. Better or worse?
The hospital was busy but competent.
Local anesthetic. Before the bruising set in.
Brave girl!
The doctor masterfully stitched Helen up, wrote out prescriptions, and TOLD US SHE WOULD BE OK!!! (That’s me being excited. We were genuinely terrified.) That night we slept on a bed at La Biosfera, courtesy of a couchsurfer, a Colombian named Sebastian who had befriended us the night before and offered up his treehouse for recovery. The next morning, he and his housemate performed Reiki on Helen to help her heal while I went into town to pick up stronger meds.
My view every hour when the alarm would go off: Time to give Helen more pills.
View from Sebastian’s on our last day.
“What’s more blue: My eyes or my spirit?”
Our final day was spent finishing our drive to Estili and exploring briefly before returning to Managua to pack for our early flight home the next morning. Hurt on Good Friday? Returning home on Easter? We call it Jesus style.
Before: Bright-eyed.
After: Customs Officer: “So….. what happened?”
Nicaragua will always hold a special place in our hearts and on Helen’s nose scar.
We received a lot of warnings about going to Nicaragua: Don’t eat the street food. Dye your hair to blend in. Everyone will be out to get you. We can’t emphasize enough how safe we felt. Here are the caveats we would give to anyone going to Nicaragua:
Bring bug spray. Ice cream is really hard to find. Leave your umbrella at home. And watch out for the rocks.
NicaROCKgua. Get it?
‘Mi and Hen
Adventuresam 
What a trip! Glad all ended well.
Sorry to hear that your trip took a dramatic turn, but looks like you guys had fun nonetheless! Thanks for continuing to share your travel stories! XO