I arrived in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, after midnight on 6 August. After spending a week in civilized Miami, this was like stepping into a documentary about a dodgy place where one should not travel as a lonely, somewhat naiv, little girl (I´m only 155cm). I have to admit, I did ask myself what I was getting myself into as I waited in line at the customs.

In the arrival hall one of the founders of Hotel con Corazón, who is Dutch, was waiting for me. I was relieved and felt at ease. After an hour ride in the car we stopped outside the hotel. Lighting had struck a power station only weeks before I arrived and the city of Granada has been experiencing quite severe power cuts for the past weeks. This meant that when we arrived at the hotel (where I stayed the first two nights) it was pitch dark and we had to use our cell phones to find our way to the room which was neat and clean (at least what I could see of it in the light of my phone).  In the morning I had a proper look at the room and was surprised by all the details that seemed so thought-through, such as the key chains for the room keys, the pictures hanging on the walls, the red cups used in the common area for water, etc.

The day after I arrived I spent walking around in the city. From one block to another the beautiful colonial houses were replaced by worn out shacks where less than clean children were playing with old PET-bottles or having a nap on the sidewalk. I did not feel entirely comfortable walking around as quite obviously a foreign girl because of the attention I brought to myself. Despite this I went all over town. I was walking through the outskirts of the city where I was literally the only none Nica (that is what they call the locals here) as well as the main square which was crowded with both tourists and locals. I had my lunch close to the main square together with my book about Nicaragua. For everyone that does not know me I am not fond of wandering around alone, let alone in a place that is very different from what I am used to. But it is healthy, I guess.

In the evening I got the chance to sit in on a dinner/presentation that was held at Hotel con Corazón about being an entrepreneur in a third-world country. I was present mainly to see how well the restaurant is doing in terms of dinner service . It will be my task to observe, evaluate and improve the procedures at the hotel for the upcoming 7 months. That is why I am here.

All in all is has been a couple of exiting days and I´m looking forward to the “Race of the bulls” that takes place tomorrow afternoon and is similar to “San Fermin” that takes place in Pamplona, Spain every year in July.

Most of my doubts about what I was getting myself into are gone now. I have 8 days to explore the area before I officially start working. My plan is to travel to the surfing area around San Juan del Sur (at the southern Pacific coast of Nicaragua) on Monday and stay there for a couple of days.

However, this is a project for next week. Until then!