Saturday morning, La Posada Del Arcangel was packed. At breakfast Thursday, all the guests fit into one room. At breakfast Friday, we fit into two rooms. At breakfast Saturday, all four dining rooms were filled and I was one of several people who sat at outside tables in one of the two gardens.
The hotel had arranged a ride for me to Airport X Hotel where the majority of the Fuller team were staying and where we were to meet. At 9:00 as scheduled, we headed out to the hotel. I am glad I was following our progress on Google Maps on my phone, as they brought me to the Airport Hotel Hex - in Spanish, they do not pronounce the H, so the names sounded the same. The driver had never heard of the Airport X Hotel, so I convinced him to follow Google for the remaining 15 minute ride to the correct hotel.
Once there, I met team leader Mike and several of the other team members. I had a second cup of coffee and visited with them while waiting for everyone and their gear to gather. Our luggage was loaded on top of a sixteen passenger van and tied in place by the driver. Fourteen of us got in and we headed off to the Best Western, where we met up with two of the Fuller Staff, Danilo and Alberto, and the remaining two members of our team, Peggy and Kathleen - the four of them rode in Danilo's car as the car and van set off for Las Peñitas.
We stopped several times on the way, just to stretch and to let people swap places, and even one stop to use restrooms and get snacks at gas station/convenience store on the south side of Leon. We got to Las Peñitas around 1:30. Hostal La Palmera is a small, modest hotel but it does have a swimming pool and the rooms have air conditioning.
Fuller Center has rented a home diagonally across the street from the Hostal and it is located directly on the beach.
The plan is for us to have our lunches and dinners at the beach house, with Danilo's wife and other Fuller staff making those meals.
The two meals today were excellent and more than enough food for even the heartiest appetites.
After dinner, Mark, Lisa and I went for a walk on the street where our hostal and the beach house are located. We each had a small flashlight, but there were street lights all the way. We ambled north at a leisurely pace and after a half hour came to Restaurante Bertha. Here, the road had curved away from the beach and we found there was this large well lit park area behind this restaurant, where there was also a fairly upscale hotel, second restaurant and access to the beach.
I tried to take a video of the private beach and the crashing surf, but it is hard to see too much of it in this short video.
They had really nice outside showers near the beach and one of the restaurants overlooked the beach.
When we got back to Hostal La Palmera around 7:45, several of the Fuller team were on the patio enjoying a beer and talking - but the bar was closed. I suggested that some of us walk to one of the small stores we passed to get some beers. Two other people volunteered to go with me. We asked the hotel guards and instead of pointing us north to where we had walked, they pointed us south. Katt, Alex and I walked south and in a short distance, came to what appeared to be a restaurant and bar - it was really rocking with dance music and strobe lights. With me in the lead, we went into the facility, only to find that it appeared to be a private party - we made a quick retreat back to the street and continued south to the next business. It was another hostal with a very laid back vibe. There was no bar per se, but they sold beer at reception - the only issue is that we had to promise to bring back the empty bottles. We bought three 40 ounce Victoria beers for 210 Cordobas ($7 US) and three 12 ounce Toñas for 90 Cordobas ($3). We made the quick five minute walk back to our hostal and joined other Fuller volunteers where we talked and enjoyed the cold beers. About 9:15, when the beer was finished, we realized that it was only 9:15 on Saturday night, so five us took the empty bottles and walked back to the other hostal and bought four more beers that lasted us for another hour of conversation and everyone finally headed off to bed before 10:30.
The hotel had arranged a ride for me to Airport X Hotel where the majority of the Fuller team were staying and where we were to meet. At 9:00 as scheduled, we headed out to the hotel. I am glad I was following our progress on Google Maps on my phone, as they brought me to the Airport Hotel Hex - in Spanish, they do not pronounce the H, so the names sounded the same. The driver had never heard of the Airport X Hotel, so I convinced him to follow Google for the remaining 15 minute ride to the correct hotel.
Once there, I met team leader Mike and several of the other team members. I had a second cup of coffee and visited with them while waiting for everyone and their gear to gather. Our luggage was loaded on top of a sixteen passenger van and tied in place by the driver. Fourteen of us got in and we headed off to the Best Western, where we met up with two of the Fuller Staff, Danilo and Alberto, and the remaining two members of our team, Peggy and Kathleen - the four of them rode in Danilo's car as the car and van set off for Las Peñitas.
We stopped several times on the way, just to stretch and to let people swap places, and even one stop to use restrooms and get snacks at gas station/convenience store on the south side of Leon. We got to Las Peñitas around 1:30. Hostal La Palmera is a small, modest hotel but it does have a swimming pool and the rooms have air conditioning.
Fuller Center has rented a home diagonally across the street from the Hostal and it is located directly on the beach.
The plan is for us to have our lunches and dinners at the beach house, with Danilo's wife and other Fuller staff making those meals.
Dinner was scheduled for 6:00 p.m., so while some went for a walk on the beach, I went and sat on the beach and shot this short video of the sunset on our first night in Las Peñitas.
The two meals today were excellent and more than enough food for even the heartiest appetites.
After dinner, Mark, Lisa and I went for a walk on the street where our hostal and the beach house are located. We each had a small flashlight, but there were street lights all the way. We ambled north at a leisurely pace and after a half hour came to Restaurante Bertha. Here, the road had curved away from the beach and we found there was this large well lit park area behind this restaurant, where there was also a fairly upscale hotel, second restaurant and access to the beach.
I tried to take a video of the private beach and the crashing surf, but it is hard to see too much of it in this short video.
They had really nice outside showers near the beach and one of the restaurants overlooked the beach.
When we got back to Hostal La Palmera around 7:45, several of the Fuller team were on the patio enjoying a beer and talking - but the bar was closed. I suggested that some of us walk to one of the small stores we passed to get some beers. Two other people volunteered to go with me. We asked the hotel guards and instead of pointing us north to where we had walked, they pointed us south. Katt, Alex and I walked south and in a short distance, came to what appeared to be a restaurant and bar - it was really rocking with dance music and strobe lights. With me in the lead, we went into the facility, only to find that it appeared to be a private party - we made a quick retreat back to the street and continued south to the next business. It was another hostal with a very laid back vibe. There was no bar per se, but they sold beer at reception - the only issue is that we had to promise to bring back the empty bottles. We bought three 40 ounce Victoria beers for 210 Cordobas ($7 US) and three 12 ounce Toñas for 90 Cordobas ($3). We made the quick five minute walk back to our hostal and joined other Fuller volunteers where we talked and enjoyed the cold beers. About 9:15, when the beer was finished, we realized that it was only 9:15 on Saturday night, so five us took the empty bottles and walked back to the other hostal and bought four more beers that lasted us for another hour of conversation and everyone finally headed off to bed before 10:30.
Another great recap of our first full day together and our trip from Managua to Las Penitas... 👍
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