Does anyone really enjoy a travel day? By our own design, we decided to purchase a positioning flight from Cincinnati to Fort Lauderdale so that we could save around $500 on our international flights. This meant we had to change terminals in Fort Lauderdale and it also meant a long layover. So, our travel day was extra long because of our own choices. We had an uneventful day that started with a quick breakfast in the lounge at CVG, a super smooth flight to Fort Lauderdale and a relaxing layover in a very quiet airport.

Our flight to Managua was our first flight on Avianca Airlines. It’s a Star Alliance airline (think United) so we knew it would be a decent experience. From start to finish, service was excellent. The plane was clean and modern. Surprisingly, the flight to Managua was only 2 hours and ten minutes so we actually arrived early. Unfortunately for us, the flights were actually the easiest part of our travel day.

Our host in Nicaragua arranged a private driver for us. His name was Franklin and he was amazing. He was waiting for us as we exited customs. What we thought was going to be a 90 minute drive to our pueblo on the beach was a harrowing 3 hour journey through insane rush hour traffic, dark daredevil motorcycling and miles and miles of unpaved roads.

By the time we arrived in El Tránsito, we were exhausted and starving. Our host was waiting for us at the hotel as was the hotel manager. We were greeted warmly with fresh hibiscus juice and a delicious dinner of chicken, gallo pinto, cheese, fresh guacamole and plantain chips. It was the perfect ending to a long day.

Actually, one last thing. I forgot to mention our new “amigo” who was waiting for us in our bathroom. More to come…