On the way to Nicaragua

So this was my first time leaving Canada. Needless to say it was a little bit intimidating. One of my biggest fears was getting lost in the Airport, but after getting through it a few times I really love flying now, even just being in an airport is fun.

From the time we left Fort Macleod to the time we landed in Managua, Nicaragua was about 24 hours. We had three connecting flights. First was Calgary to Toronto, then Toronto to Miami, and then Miami to Managua. About 3-4 hours in between each flight. When we got to Miami I could feel the difference in humidity immediately after leaving the plane. I've heard Ontario can be humid, but I've never felt humidity like this anywhere in Canada, at any time of year. It was really an amazing experience, I guess the little things impress you when you've never traveled before.

It was dark by the time we got to Managua. The sun sets quite early in the tropics. As we were getting off the plane, I was still wearing a leather Jacket. The pilot looked at me and said "You're going to want to take that off". I didn't have a free hand so I kept it on. Halfway down the tunnel from the door of the plane I took it off. Another new experience, I had never ever felt heat like that except in a sauna back in Canada. It was DARK! and its was still HOT. Getting off the plane was like walking into a sauna. So hot, so humid. We stopped to fill out the immigration papers which only took a minute or two then carried on to collect our baggage. We entered the baggage area and got hit with yet another heat wave. It was even hotter in this part of the airport, somehow. After we had our bags we went to customs. Guess what, another heat wave. Hotter still. Finally we had everything, none of our bags had gone missing and security determined we were not a threat to national security. A local brother, who was a relative of the sister we spoke to in Canada was outside waiting for us and we could see him through the doors. The moment the doors opened to the outside... Somebody opened the oven. I hadn't realized this, but the ENTIRE airport is Air conditioned. We were in a "cold place" the whole time.

Javier (the local brother) met us outside and took us to his truck. He told us the back seat was full, so we would have to ride in the back. Being a city boy, I did not understand this sentence. We rode with our bags in the bed his pickup truck. It was a lot of fun, I've never gotten tired of doing this. I was really nervous though, assuming that riding in such a way MUST be illegal, at least in the capital city. I got more nervous when I saw the police coming up behind us as we were driving out of Managua. My fears subsided when they passed us and I saw three officers riding in the back of the police truck who didn't even seem to notice us.

Javier took us to the food court at a mall in Managua for our first taste of Nicaraguan food, and then to La Concepccion (Known as La Concha to locals), in the mountains to the south of Managua where we would be staying for the next month and a half. Thankfully it was a bit cooler there.