K Wilder

We and arranged with Nora, the owner, to stay at Casa la Ceiba for a week in exchange for our marketing services. We created a new website, social media profiles, updated listings, new photos, and a video. We woke up early in the mornings to grab photos and video in the soft golden light, and we made the long hike back towards town a few times to use the internet. We got the website and listings all done in a single long day online. You can see the work we did here, and there's plenty of pictures:

One unique attraction at Casa la Ceiba is the resident troop of howler monkeys. Around 5am every day, we (and all non-deaf people within five miles) were awoken to a horrifying sound, terrible in both volume and bestial violence. It sounded like zombies were being tortured outside the window. It sounded like all of the dinosaurs from Jurrasic park fighting to the death on the patio. And then the rest of the troop started in. Soon the troops were serenading each others from miles apart up and down the coast, their calls echoing through the jungle and inside the skulls of everyone in between. It was actually a little bit of a disappointment when we actually saw the creatures in the daylight as they're only about cat sized, and relaxed quietly in the trees for most of the day.

While we were there I also got to experience spear fishing for the first time. With my mask, flippers, and cheap spear gun I set out into the clear blue waters and swam around the rocks at the end of the beach. The first things I noticed were stingrays and puffer fish. There were hundreds of them everywhere I looked. The stingrays ranged from hand sized to some over six feet across, and there were several types of puffer fish bobbing around. Most of the bay was full of one big school of sardines, so as I swam out deeper I saw larger predator fish cruising by every once in a while. That's what I was after, and I saw a few schools of Jacks and one Mackerel, but I never got close enough to them. Over the next days unfortunately the visibility got worse and worse until I had to give up altogether, but I spotted a huge Moray Eel, a water snake, and some massive rays. I also ran into a jellyfish once that left red welts across my arms and legs.

During our stay we got to know Nick and Kathy from England who were traveling with her two Nicaraguan nephews Sebastian (11 years) and Santiago (8 years). We made dinner with them a couple times and rode into town for more groceries in their rental car. Max taught them how to cut up and barbecue a tuna, and they taught us more about England and living in Europe, adding to everything that we've learned from Top Gear. There wasn't any wifi at the hotel so Kenna taught everyone how to play Mexican Dominoes and the boys helped her with her Spanish!