Rivas and Hacienda Amayo, Nicargaua
The day began ominously with dark skies overhead in San Juan Del Sur, our port of entry into Nicargua. Luckily as the sun rose, the skies cleared and as we landed dockside in San Jaun Del Sur, the local brass band greeted us with some delightful, energetic music. We transferred via small buses to the small town of Rivas, where the first visit was to a small but interesting museum, and after a brief tour of the museum, the school children from Bambi Pre-school entertained us with a series of traditional dances. An enchanting and delightful show it was too, we were absolutely enthralled by these young children, who then invited our youngsters (and not-so-young-sters) to dance with them!
After the show we boarded pepanos for a tour of town, pepanos being the local taxis made of modified bicycles that have a seat for two in front. We rode all through town, stopping at the local market, visiting the cathedral, and all in all we put on quite a show for the local Nicaraguans as we paraded through town!
After visiting Rivas, the highlight of the day, our visit to the Hacienda Amayo, the family seat of the Barrios family. This gracious and hospitable family, closely linked to the former President of Nicaragua, served us a traditional buffet lunch called “Caballo bayo” on their patio overlooking Lake Nicaragua. This stunning location sweeps down to the shores of the lake, and includes a vista of the two volcanoes on the island of Ometepe.
After lunch we challenged the local baseball team of Rivas to a game of baseball, the USA versus Nicaragua! The team was composed of a small cadre of Major Leagues hopefuls and as the game started, we fancied our chances of pulling off a USA victory, but these hopes were soon dashed as the local team got into a rhythm and slowly but surely demolished us! Oh well, everyone had a great day and many new friends were made.
The day began ominously with dark skies overhead in San Juan Del Sur, our port of entry into Nicargua. Luckily as the sun rose, the skies cleared and as we landed dockside in San Jaun Del Sur, the local brass band greeted us with some delightful, energetic music. We transferred via small buses to the small town of Rivas, where the first visit was to a small but interesting museum, and after a brief tour of the museum, the school children from Bambi Pre-school entertained us with a series of traditional dances. An enchanting and delightful show it was too, we were absolutely enthralled by these young children, who then invited our youngsters (and not-so-young-sters) to dance with them!
After the show we boarded pepanos for a tour of town, pepanos being the local taxis made of modified bicycles that have a seat for two in front. We rode all through town, stopping at the local market, visiting the cathedral, and all in all we put on quite a show for the local Nicaraguans as we paraded through town!
After visiting Rivas, the highlight of the day, our visit to the Hacienda Amayo, the family seat of the Barrios family. This gracious and hospitable family, closely linked to the former President of Nicaragua, served us a traditional buffet lunch called “Caballo bayo” on their patio overlooking Lake Nicaragua. This stunning location sweeps down to the shores of the lake, and includes a vista of the two volcanoes on the island of Ometepe.
After lunch we challenged the local baseball team of Rivas to a game of baseball, the USA versus Nicaragua! The team was composed of a small cadre of Major Leagues hopefuls and as the game started, we fancied our chances of pulling off a USA victory, but these hopes were soon dashed as the local team got into a rhythm and slowly but surely demolished us! Oh well, everyone had a great day and many new friends were made.
