Nancy's Blog

We cooked cocoa pods over a coal fire until they popped like popcorn, then emptied the shells of their sweet goodness, ground it with a mortar and pestle until it was creamy, added spices, honey, and water, and drank like the Aztecs. Later we used the same basic ingredients to make our own candy bars. Now that's what I call a tourist attraction! More photos on the food page.

...strength, poise and grace of a ballerina but probably without the expensive training. Beautiful.

A sensory assault awaits the uninitiated.

The elegance of Spain meets the charm of Latin America in lovely Granada, Nicaragua. Art everywhere, wonderful food, gracious people, delightful colors and easy on the pocketbook!

Blasting mariachi music, the vibration of the engine, and a lopsided bathroom door banging continually against Lauren’s knee gave our bus ride the full flavor of a foreign experience as we sped toward the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Sugar cane fields flashed by, small purple, orange, and lime green buildings peeked out behind explosions of bulganvilia, horseback riders came from nowhere, some carrying machetes and toddlers. Acres of grassland flecked with skinny white cows and bicyclists peddling down dirt roads gave the scenery a sweet peacefulness and infused us all with excited speculations about what in the world we might see next.