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    Home » Lifestyle » Adventure » Travel » North America

    A Visit to Las Peñitas, Nicaragua

    March 5, 2015 / Updated Jul 11, 2020 / by Carolyn Gratzer Cope / 6 Comments / This post may contain affiliate links. Learn more.

    Tips, photos, and good fun from our family's week staying at a lovely AirBNB in Las Peñitas, Nicaragua, off the beaten tourist path and down by the sea.

    Las Penitas Nicaragua 780 | Umami Girl

    In February we spent a warm, relaxing week on the beach in Nicaragua. We went for the tropical weather and the low-key cultural immersion, and it was wonderful. But we aren’t Nicaragua naturals. We don’t surf. (You say Surf, I say Taco.) We aren’t Canadian. (The Canadian expat presence there is surprisingly robust.) And it’s impossible to overstate how bad our Spanish is. 

    Still, I feel I owe it to you to try.

    Las Penitas Nicaragua 780 | Umami Girl
    Las Penitas Nicaragua 780 | Umami Girl

    Cómo se dice "plunger"

    Without getting into the graphic details of just how special parenting can be, let’s say we had a toilet overflow warning, upgraded from a watch, one evening in the beautiful indoor-outdoor house we rented through airbnb. Let’s say the groundskeeping and cooking at this house were done by a wonderful woman named Rosa, who spoke not one word of English but warmed to our family instantly and called every one of us “mi amor.” Let’s say we didn’t want to abuse this privilege by getting her too deeply involved in the rescue operation. We just wanted a plunger. 

    We’d opted not to have the unreliable wifi router in the almond tree activated for the week, and none of us had been smart enough to bring or even download a pocket dictionary. Not that “plunger” tops the typical need-to-know list for tourists.

    Las Penitas Nicaragua 780 | Umami Girl-15
    Las Peñitas, Nicaragua AirBnb
    Las Penitas Nicaragua 780 | Umami Girl

    The bathroom! It is high!

    There may have been a several-hour standoff where everyone acted like things were fine, hoping someone else would handle it. 

    Then Cope disappeared for a couple of minutes. And reemerged, plunger in hand. Romance comes in surprising packages.

    How…did you… We wanted to know.

    He told a strange story about conjuring the word baño and having read some stop signs (ALTO) on the two-hour ride from Managua to Las Peñitas. In the end, we think he told Rosa, The bathroom! It is high!

    I can only hope that Spanish syntax allowed her the ideal silent response while smiling through her teeth: “Uh…you’re high.”

    A wildly realistic mime

    We’ve traveled a decent amount in the past few years, but it had been a long time since either of us were at such a loss for language. Mostly because so much of the world speaks excellent or at least passable English now, and a little bit because we speak enough French and Italian between us to ask for lice shampoo or extra napkins. 

    Some of the week’s absolute highlights came from the language gap. I felt a brief swell of pride wondering how I knew the Spanish word for padlock, only to realize that Rosa had clearly spent all day perfecting a wildly realistic two-handed padlock mime. And that she was performing that mime very close to my face. 

    Las Penitas Nicaragua 780 | Umami Girl
    Las Penitas Nicaragua 780 | Umami Girl
    Las Penitas Nicaragua 780 | Umami Girl

    Getting out of your element, with kids

    It’s so good to be out of your element from time to time — to remind yourself and show your kids what you look like as a well-intentioned idiot. To see how differently other people live, not so far across the globe and closer still by any decent measure of human nature. It helps to do it in an arrestingly beautiful environment, with a backyard pool and simple, perfect dinners of creamy black beans, plantains, and chayote.

    Back home, I’m working on perfecting those beans, and I’m fortifying myself through what I hope will be the winter’s last snowstorm by repeatedly watching the following 30 seconds of crashing waves and sunset glow. I recommend it. 

    More North America

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    • A Few Notes + Where to Eat in Calgary
    • 15

    About Carolyn Gratzer Cope

    Hi there, I'm Carolyn Gratzer Cope. Welcome to Umami Girl, where I've been sharing recipes and more for thoughtful folks since 2008. Learn more.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sean Mallen says

      March 07, 2015 at 11:18 am

      Another lovely, wry and evocative essay Carolyn. Also inspirational...in the sense of I'm inspired to learn the word émbolo.

      Reply
    2. Henry Doll says

      March 06, 2015 at 11:37 am

      The girls are absolutely adorable! As always, lovely photography. Things sure have changed down there!

      My friend's son and his wife are now living in Costa Rica full time (she's a native) and raising the kids there. They keep trying to get everyone to move there! lol

      ...I love the sound of saying, 'Managua Nicaragua'!

      Reply
    3. Jill says

      March 05, 2015 at 6:14 pm

      As usual, beautifully & humorously written! LOVE it, ALL! I do have a tip though for your next venture to a spanish speaking location... bring the Wiley's. KW is wonderful to have in these situations... Just ask the Brownlie's about the time he returned spoiled shrimp in Costa Rica. 😉 Of course, I also have ulterior motives... xo

      Reply
      • Jill says

        March 05, 2015 at 6:15 pm

        Spanish. UGH! Really auto-correct? You made it a lowercase?! Come on! 😉

        Reply

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