Yes, Nicaragua is worth it – Stitches and all

Eric Cedeno Photo by @JERSON_barboza_photo

The whole idea of the trip came out of nowhere really. My wife over heard her coworkers talking about a surf trip to La Barra Surf Resort in Nicaragua about 2 weeks before the planned flight and of course my wife asked if we could go next year. They said you can go on this trip if you can confirm in the next 2 hours. I got the ok from my boss and boom we were set. Shoot, my boss has been to the same place and was giving me advice about the spots and tides (I still think that’s cool).

I heard about the civil unrest in Nicaragua before my trip in early July (2018). I heard of the college students that were killed during protests and wondered how close the violence might be to the surf camp my friends and I were going to stay at. Our group of travel companions was made up of 6 of us (3 guys, 3 girls) with various surfing skill levels. 2 had already made this trip a few times and were hungry for surf. The rest of us were really just following their lead.

I’m pretty much a longboarder at heart and brought 3 boards to cover all the bases: 9’0 longboard, 7’4” gunny hybrid & my 6’4” Lost board. I even bought a new DAKINE coffin travel bag and used some pool noodles & beach towels to pack it all up nice & airport friendly. 

I have to say the DAKINE 9'2" World Traveler - Surfboard Bag ($340)  is awesome! It’s got wheels and out worked great for me. It was a little less bulky and less pricey then the Pro-lite longboard wheeled coffin surfboard bag (2-4 boards $432). Out of our group 4 shortboards got their noses dinged up at the airport going there (2 different board bags)- so pack those areas well… I use swimming pool noodles as extra paddling, and in the pool once we got there! My board bag held up great. We got those fixed right away and moral stayed high for everyone.

Photo by @JERSON_barboza_photo

Its nice have a photographer on hand. $100 for a week water shots and big telephoto lens for land shots- deal of the century! I’m pretty sure I got the “Bro hook up” price since my friends are already friends with Jerson, but even it was the price was higher it would still be a deal! Check out his Instagram account at @JERSON_barboza_photo.  Hands down the best shots of me surfing I’ve ever seen. Casey had 64 GIG of pictures of him getting barreled (yes that’s a ton of waves) so bring a jump drive or an external disk drive so you can take those epic shots back with you. It’s worth the trip just to get Jerson to take pictures of you in the water!

I’m pretty sure I said “This is my favorite meal” every time we ate breakfast, lunch & dinner (and I meant it too). Every day was tremendous; coffee, surf, breakfast, hammock, boat trip to surf, lunch, pool, surf, power nap with the AC on, and then dinner. Every night was spend telling stories over cold Tona beers and cocktails while Jerson replayed the days photos on the big screen.

Photo by @JERSON_barboza_photo

I lucked out even more because my wife also took pictures of us surfing. I’ll admit that now I really want a bigger lens (for my wife). I’ll have to start a “Go-Lens-Me” fundraiser for it- Something like the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens - I’ll keep you posted!

I was the only one in our group that had a bad enough injury that required stitches and time out of the water. That being said 8 stitches to the back of the head is pretty serious stuff and I’m very thankful that it was not way worse. Here’s what happened. It was my second session of the morning and the tide was dropping out front at chicken bowls. I was riding my 7’4 and just having a blast. 

Eric Cedeno Photo by @JERSON_barboza_photo

Eric Cedeno Photo by @JERSON_barboza_photo

I ended up eating it in the barrel on a small one and maybe two seconds into the wipeout I smacked the back of my head on the shelf. You could probably hear me under water say “Fudge!” (*I’m keeping it PG like the movie “the Christmas story”, but you get the idea). I didn’t blackout and I didn’t see stars. I was just pissed I got hit. As soon as I made it to the surfaces I did a quick wipe to the back of my head and there was a lot of blood- time to go in. My wife was there taking pictures of my and could tell something was up. I took off my white rash guard quickly because I didn’t want it to get all stained with blood, I mean it was new and actually the first time I wore it.  Very comfortable and I highly recommend getting the Rib Rocket for those long epic paddle sessions.

So my wife did her best to stay calm and we headed back to the surf camp for them to look at and it was either liquid stitch it or off the hospital. One of our crew also works as nurse and she got me to ice it right away – that helped slow the bleeding. A few minutes later we decided to make the five minute drive to the hospital and have them take care of it. Now so you know I’ve been to the hospital in Costa Rica (Santa Theresa) and this was by far a first for my wife. She was shocked by the whole thing, the guy selling avocados with his machete in the waiting room, everyone seemed more interested in the world cup of soccer than me bleeding from my head. 

Luis drove us and was our Spanish interpreter. He said we had to agree to pay whatever the final amount was or else they will just let me bleed to death (I guess that’s normal there). We agreed and they took me in the back and stitched me up on a bed while my wife tried not to gag. They said the wound was easy enough to work on without having to shave me. Good thing to because they don’t supply razors at the hospital, you’d have to go down the street to the liquor store and buy a razor if you needed one (we dodged that one).

I thanked the two doctors for patching me up and we went back to the front desk to find out what the bill was going to be… any guesses? $21 USD.  We paid the $21 bucks and headed outside to the pharmacy to pay for the pain meds and antibiotics another $3.50 USD. So if you think you may need stitches in Nicaragua be sure and stash an extra $25 to $40 bucks just in case of a medical emergency. I had a Tona beer on the way back from the hospital and was again grateful that I was going to be ok.

My wife doesn’t surf all that often. She’s still a beginner and needs a week or two at a softer rolly spot- maybe Indonesia. I’ll have to look into that and book a surf trip with that in mind. I was pleasantly surprised when she paddled out with me and the crew just to watch the sunset from the water- she even caught a wave it. No kook of the day action getting out the shore break either- I was impressed (as always). She also made the paddle out for a boat surf trip and I love her for that! Plus that meant I got the extra option of surfing a different board depending on how the waves turned out (I do love having options).

Photo by @JERSON_barboza_photo

The boat trip was easy going, the wind was howling offshore and way too windy for Sandino to really work. We ended up at a heavy beach break where spooky set waves would pop up out of nowhere and steam roll everything in its path. I still had 8 stitches in the back of my head was playing it as smart as I could. 

Photo by @JERSON_barboza_photo

I probably shouldn’t have been out there but I wanted to get a few waves and hopefully a few fun pictures (and I did). I’d get a wave in, wait for the set to pass and then paddle back out, wait for that next spooky set to roll thru then go for another wave. I wished I was more comfortable in larger waves. That spot was paradise and we had the place to ourselves. The photos from there are just magical- the stuff dreams are made of.

I almost don’t want to talk about the drive to the airport at all. It was after all the scariest part of the whole trip – hands down the scariest drive to the airport ever, beats out New York cab drivers and even the cab ride in Rome Italy. We headed to the airport at 2pm for a 5pm flight (1.5 hour drive) and all the roads were blocked and grid locked. Cops with guns everywhere in the city during the rally march. I heard what I hope was firecrackers going off now and them, but they sounded gun shots (hard to tell). After a lot of back tracking, white knuckling it and some nausea we made it to the airport with our flight leaving in 10 minutes! We all had surfboards to check and pulled them all into one transaction which the airlines said we didn’t have to pay for! That was over $600 in boards! (Yes we scored!) We all ran thru security and the rest of the airport and we were the last people on the plane before it departed for El Salvador to our connecting flight.

I was pretty sure our boards didn’t make the plane but there was really nothing anyone could do about that until we got back to the Los Angeles airport. The flight was a little bumpy but we all made it back safe and sound. LA has a nice international airport and if you travel internationally a lot then definitely get Global Entry, it makes coming and going super easy (way shorter lines). I was really happy to see all our boards made the trip back home too (no shortboard dings this time). It was really a great adventure and I highly recommend going if you get the opportunity.

Here's a few more Photos by @JERSON_barboza_photo to dream about:

 

 

 

Travel advice:

Stay at La Barra Surf Resort! Great people- great surf! 

Hows your spanish? Start practicing now. I use the DUO Lingo app on my phone, but there are a bunch of free apps and youtube videos out there to get you started.

Give yourself extra time when you plan to leave, you never know when the next rally or march might pop up. Just stay out of all politics talks. The country is really divided and there is a fight no matter what side you support. Best to stay out of those conversations.

Don't flash your cash, stay minimal and make friends. Definitely bring some mosquito spray and Benadryl. If nothing else you can trade goodies with other surf travelers.

A small first aid kit would also be handy, tweezers, bandaids, etc. A cool thing to do is pack extra clothes, trunks, hats ect and give them away to the local kids. They will love you for that! Best of Luck!