Nicaragua: The first few days

Having a beer our first night in Leon.

Looking up from the table we were sitting at.

The cathedral

That's a volcano! There is LAVA down there!

Sunset from the side of the Telica volcano

NNM Day 14 :: Dessert at every meal

As I mentioned previously, I'm traveling in Nicaragua! Updating from my phone isn't really allowing me to spell-check and format they way I usually do. Forgive me! I'll be replacing some NNM posts with travel updates and "what I ate today" type content.

One great habit I picked up is having "dessert" with every meal.
                                                             
"Whaaat?! Katie... how are you not 468292 pounds?!"

Great question!

Dessert doesn't have to mean copious amouts of pie or cake or candy. In Korea, each (school) meal typically ended with some kind of seasonal fruit. I've always suffered from the "post-meal sweet craving," but in Korea I ended up accidentally training myself into being satisfied by the small bit of fruit at the end of lunches. Eventually, I added a fruity thing to the end of dinners I would make at home and if I went out, would sometimes grab a small ice cream. I did, however, find that on nights when we were drinking with dinner (big part of Korean dining-out is communal alcohol), I didn't really feel the need for anything after the meal. I suspect it has something to do with the meals typically being low in carbs, and my body recognizing if/when I needed to consume something carby- alcohol, our terrible friend, has the carby thaang covered!

A sample of how I add dessert to my meals now that I'm back in the US. Chili and Ezekiel toast with avocado and peppers, finished off with 1/2 an apple.

Nicaragua

A friend of mine invited me on her trip to Nicaragua. I'm still jobless, but the temptation is too great!

On the last leg of my US tour, I offered to take a later flight when Delta had overbooked my original flight. So my round trip ticket between Boston and Nicaragua wouldn't cost me anything.

I had made a budget estimate a few weeks back and learned that I had enough money to last me through mid-June, assuming that I was still without an income and had no major surprise expenses.

This trip is not a wise financial decision, but it is a necessary one. I need a break from the job hunt, I need some inspiration, I need some sun, and I want to spend time with my friend. All seem to be good reasons to go.

I'll have to keep a relatively tight budget while we're there: no overeating (I'm always tempted to try things I see from the street vendors), plan out expedition expenses, and minimal cocktail consumption.

I have some rolled coins, Korean Won I forgot to change over, and some Christmas money to ease the expense-blow. After everything, hopefully my bank account won't be more than $300 poorer.

I just need to square a few minor details before I book the ticket- but it looks like I'm going! Yay!