Waving goodbye to Grandma Maria Luisa and her granddaughters Janna & Marcela after an impromptu introduction to golf!
JTOG Day 45 was Sunday, November 24th, 2013 and with less than 100 miles to travel from the hills surrounding Matagalpa to the capital city of Managua it was a day of leisurely voyaging and documenting on both ends and in between. I knew I had a bed for the next two nights at the Real Intercontinental Managua Metrocentro. Hopefully finding it would be an easy thing to do. Easier said than done, of course, for Torch and me in Central America!
Before I left the Cantu’s next door neighbor Maria Luisa brought over a plate of fresh papaya. Spurred by the friendly gesture and in the spirit of The Journey, I offered to introduce her and her two granddaughters to the game of golf! It was a special part of the 100-day odyssey for sure. Golf has so much room to grow around the world.
An enjoyable Sunday morning breakfast with Connie and Ernesto at the Hostal Ulap Yasica was a great way to start the day!
Connie and Ernesto wanted to take me to a special place that meant a lot to them. The Hostal Ulap Yasica was where they stayed for twelve nights when they first came to Matagalpa. Billed as “Your Home-away-from-Home in Nature while you Visit the Cooler Northern Mountains of Nicaragua,” Ulap Yasica is a family run eco-lodge that has a heck of a Sunday morning breakfast waiting for you. As you can see in the video below Connie and Ernesto are a warm, spirited couple of love birds that has escaped the rat race in America, at least for the time being. I liked Connie’s father’s perspective of life—”let’s explore, let’s learn, see what you can see and go where you can go.” I am very thankful to have gone to Matagalpa and have had the opportunity to meet the Cantu Couple that can do!
Click here for a Video Interview of Connie & Ernesto Cantu at the Hostal Ulap Yasica.
One of the yellow trees next to a tribute to Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela who died earlier in the year.
The drive to Managua was uneventful for the most part. At a gas station stop I did notice two things with Torch that brought me concern but more on that tomorrow. There is no doubt that each country in Central America has a different feel to it. Nicaragua was no exception especially when I saw my first 45-foot high yellow metal psychedelic tree entering the central part of the city. Raised in honor of the 34th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution celebrated earlier in the year, they are prominent along the Avenue Bolivar, with many Christmas exhibits. Nicaragua’s official slogan is “Christian, Socialist and United.”
The entrance to Nejapa Golf & Country Club was beautifully lined with palm trees. The banner proclaiming a big club golf tournament in progress!
After finding the Real Intercontinental Managua Metrocentro which was not too difficult to do, and checking in, there was still a couple of hours of daylight so I decided to head out to the Nejapa Golf & Country Club. I had not yet made contact with the club but it was less than ten minutes away and Concierge Extraordinaire Jeasson Camedro had a map with directions so I decided to go for it. I knew it would be my only chance to play golf in Nicaragua and the earlier I could make contact the better and what better way than to show up in person to say hello “Would you and your club like to be part of the historic ‘Journey to Olympic Golf.’
The first tee at Nejapa G&CC with a view that never ends!
As fate would have it, the timing of my appearance at Nejapa Golf & Country Club was fortuitous. Today was the day they were having the Torneo Presidencial 2013. The competition was over and the victors were lingering around enjoying their success and were open to meeting a curious American golf travel writer. Some of the winning team was from out of town and staying at, you guessed it, my hotel, the Real Intercontinental Managua Metrocentro and they were planning to move the celebration over there. Now I had a personal escort, Javier Cabanellas, that Torch and I could follow back to the hotel. Needless to say I learned a more direct and shorter way that the circuitous route Torch and I took coming over.
With my new friends at Nejapa G&CC—from left-to-right—Don, Javier, me, Alex, and Mario.
We spent the evening toasting their success in golf and life, mine too! It was fun to make new friends and learn about the rich and interesting history of the club of Nejapa, a municipality in Managua and the country of Nicaragua. While I never did learn the origin and meaning of the word ‘Nejapa’ I suspect it comes from the indigenous people of Nicaragua. Goodness gracious, great balls of fire, they have a festival on the last day of August where they honor their patron Saint Jerome and his victory over the devil by having what is best described as a snowball fight but with real fireballs!
All in all this was a great day getting settled in the heart of Nicaragua. With only Costa Rica and Panama to come, my time in Central America was running out. Not only was I trying to network and plan ahead for those two countries but also a new continent—South America was in my sights and on the horizon!
Tomorrow would be spent addressing the one thing that could stop The Journey as I know it today. There would be no golf in Nicaragua yet but the party from Sunday night would carry on for a bit longer.
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Torch and me saying goodbye to the Cantu’s at the Hostal Ulap Yasica in Matagalpa!
Central America is the Land of Volcanoes, here is Masaya Volcano, always looming in the background in Managua.
Christmas is coming and so is Santa Claus… a blue one, like everything in Nicaragua!
