Mad Dogs!!

There are an outrageous number of wild dogs in Nicaragua. I mean, it´s really quite incredible. Although, most of them are not actually wild (they are domesticated for house protection) they still walk the streets like they have no home. And they follow you and bark crazily at you. I´m in a country full of mad dogs!

In addition to dogs, which I do NOT think are cool. Isla Omotepe is home to the howler monkeys. They are about the size of a small dog, but they cry like a much, much larger animal. When we climbed Volcano Maderas, we heard these guys from the distance and thought there were bears in the forest. Although, we didn´t get to see the Howlers, we did see many more monkeys on a hiking trail near Charco Verde. Monkeys are the best, because they don´t run away when you´re trying to take pictures of them. They understand that this is the way of the human species, we see another animal and we must take our pics before we move on. Monkeys. Are Great.

On our way back to the city of Moyogalpa, we had to wait on the side of the main road for a bus that was hopefully going to pick us up. However, after waiting for about 30 minutes, we were lucky enough to discover the facility of hitching a ride. Not quite hitchhiking! But people that are heading in a clear direction and see people standing on the side of the road do stop and ask is you want a lift. So we got on the back of a pick up truck and rode the rest of the way to Moyogalpa with a mini ice cream cart. Its funny that we should think this is safe. In the US, I would never even DREAM of doing such a thing, but here there is a cerain rhythm. And if you are paying close enough attention to that rhythm, you can tell when things are dangerous because they don´t groove with the locals. We figured it was safe based on vibes, and well, there was another chica sitting in the back with us.

One very noticeable between this and my travels in West Africa is that people don´t really bargain here. When you are given a price, for a taxi ride or a craft, you can be pretty sure that they aren´t offering you twice the actual price. And if you find the price to be too expensive, they won´t chase you when you walk away. Despite the poverty that undoubtedly does exist here, people don´t seem to be desperate for your money. This makes transactions so much smoother because there is no argument involved, or assertion of character to knock of a couple bucks. I mean, that ws really exgausting in West Africa, having to haggle EVERY SINGLE thing I paid for. From hotels to cabs to crafts to food. Jeeez.

Besides being easier for me, I think it speaks volumes about their culture that they don´t customarily bargain. In a nutshell, they are not trying to rip you off. They are incredibly laid back here and are dignified in their own chill. I admire that they are so straighfoward with us without even contemplating the glaring power structure that allows two 21 year olds to spend so much money on a short vacation. Nobody seems to be resentful towards us for being from the US, despite our country's undeniably shady dealings with their country. Of course, I am speaking generally and I don´t speak the language. So it would be hard for me to know if people are being fake with us or if we are actually getting ripped off.