Over the past few weeks we have been busy traveling abroad, treasure hunting and volunteering. We spent 6 days vacationing in Nicaragua with a toddler. She was such trooper.

We left on Christmas Day so she handed out chocolates to all the workers, flight attendants, and bus drivers we ran into.  We wanted to make sure they knew we appreciated them being there for us on Christmas. She brought a smile to everyones face that she gave candy to!

She endured an extremely early wake-up call and 2 rather short flights. We found out very quickly she no longer likes to sleep on the airplane. This made it a little trying but nothing we were not expecting.

Upon arriving in Nicaragua, our little princess immediately met a few little ones her age while we waited to clear customs. The line was long and the wait was longer; she was just as entertaining for them as they were for her.

Once we cleared customs we walked through the international arrival door looking for the little sign with our names on it. Nothing. We waited and waited. Still no one arrived. I had arranged a ride for us a week earlier. We waited nearly 2 hours at which point the little one fell asleep in the Kelty backpack. The delay was frustrating, but in the time we waited we met some expats who asked if WE were the living in Nicaragua! A great couple with 3 kids who run an ice cream shop in Matagalpa!

Since the driver didn’t show, or we all failed to see each other, we took a taxi. The address I had for the villa we were staying at seemed easy enough to find … if there were street signs and house numbers in Nicaragua. Since the roads are not marked, our very limited english speaking driver couldn’t find our rental. We stopped 3 times to ask for directions. It finally took a phone call to the property to find our way.

After a few turns we were there … we had arrived to an absolutely beautiful guest house. We were completely blown away by the tropical oasis.

Stay tuned for multiple posts about our week in Nicaragua!