Maybe, just maybe Enzo found his favorite therapists - Papa! With Papa being around 24/7 now, I think Enzo (actually all of us) are enjoying our time as a family of four! Now on the farm, we have tons of space (it's about 20 acres), with trails, trees, a pool and lots to explore.
Farm life isn't easy. Any farmer will tell you that. However, it's definitely harder in Nicaragua, especially during the dry season when the water levels are so low. However, the community comes together and anything is possible.
Need your water tanks filled a little more to take the edge off the dire straits? Contact the local fire department! Naturally this was all that was needed to make my little future first responder happy! The local firefighters (bomberos in Spanish) came in, helped fill some of the water tanks and even entertained Eli with showing them their vehicle - a much antiquated version of a water tanker. I think Eli really enjoyed it.
Know what else Eli enjoys? He loves orange juice. I am not a fan of Eli ordering orange juice at a restaurant or anywhere, honestly. It's just a lot of sugar. But when your kiddo wakes up first thing in the morning and runs out to the orange grove and picks his own oranges, squeezes them and then offers you a drink, it's a no brainer! YES!!! No, he doesn't even add sugar to the orange juice. Yes, some of the pulp is still in the drink. No, he doesn't strain it unless it has some seeds. This is a win, WIN!
While in San Juan del Sur, we made a bunch of friends. The ones I really enjoy are the ones who want to venture out for a day trip and join us in Masatepe. With plans already made to take a few days from San Juan del Sur and head to Managua, our friends, Angelina and Bryce made a pit stop to see us and we all headed out to Laguna de Apoyo!
Laguna de Apoyo is a crater lake that was formed after a massive eruption way before time, if you know what I mean. It's also super deep, like 200 meters or 665 feet deep. No sharks, just the fish that belong there and some turtles but I didn't see any turtles. The cleanest one is all of Central America. No motorized boat and a protected reserve makes for a beautiful and untouched beauty in the heart of Nicaragua. It's so clean it is deemed to even have some health benefits (think soaking in a mineral bath). This location is one of the top destinations for locals and tourists alike.
We went to a hostel called the Paraiso and for a mere $7pp, you can enjoy all the amenities this place has to offer like the benches, chairs, inner tubes. For extra you can use a kayak or paddleboard but it was too windy on the day we went. However we did eat there and OH MY GOODNESS, the food was absolutely worth every single bite!
After Laguna de Apoyo we all wanted to head back to the farm for a little break before heading to the Masaya Volcano, an almost hour drive from the farm just to the entrance. After paying a small fee we headed through the reserve and finally made it up to the parking lot of the volcano.
It's an active volcano and the night we went, we got lucky. We got to see red! Yep, red lava. Why do I say lucky? Well, sometimes the smoke from the volcano blocks the view of the red lava boiling within.
It's absolutely crazy to see how close we were to the crater and the lava. I didn't even realize just how dangerous this was until I saw the documentary "Fire of Love." It's about a married couple, both volcanologists who eventually died due to an eruption of a volcano in Japan. But not to worry, here I am typing on my computer, safely away from the active lava.
Enzo didn't want to leave Bryce's side. Nor did he want to go through the crowd to get a picture with us so it's just me with Eli and Scott. Enzo is off the side having fun holding Bryce's hand.
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