Easter is THE holiday in most of Latin America. In Nicaragua it is the party holiday of the year, and San Juan del Sur is the destination of choice. Rumour has it that up to 250,000 people descend on the town (usual population is about 6000). We began seeing preparations for the party last weekend, and every day since then has seen more and more changes to our quiet town.
The local gringos (more politely referred to as extranjeros) seem to fear the week and we were warned over and over of the mayhem to be expected. Not to mention the warnings not to venture outside with any valuables including our better jewellery, for fear of it being ripped right off our necks and ears.
By Tuesday, most of our usual haunts that cater to the ex-pat community had closed up shop, allowing their staff to have a vacation and their owners to vacate town for a bit. Many of the local extranjeros do not look forward to the party and head either home for a brief vacation, or hide away in their homes for the week. Some actually head in to Managua, while the Managuans head here. Apparently the Managua hotels offer amazing deals during Semana Santa.
Soon, barricades had been erected to close off the beachfront street to all but delivery traffic and our street became the main road for anyone heading north along the beach. We watched as truck after truck rolled into town bringing temporary constructions of all types and hundreds of porta-potties. By Wednesday night things were getting in to full swing, as pizza trucks, fried chicken trucks, ice cream and beer stands all were ensconced in empty lots and other spare space along the beachfront. Two huge discoteques were erected on the north end of the beach, along with a temporary football (soccer) pitch and a beach volleyball court. The discotecques are particularly impressive as they each must hold close to 2 or 3000 people and are multi-level, multi-staged constructions.
Last night my friend John and I headed out to partake of the party ourselves. John is not much of a nightclub lover, so I credit him as an amazingly 'good sport' for accompanying me into the craziness. Especially since in a crush of people he was marked by not one pick-pocket, but three. Or perhaps the same one three times - it was impossible to tell in the crowd. The third attempt was successful and we lost our cash - all $30 of it! We were wise enough to come out with only the bare minimum. John had slipped the cash into the front pocket of his jeans, and kept his hand on his pocket at all times... however they managed to knock him off balance and get it out. Amazingly persistent! Had we known how brazen they could be, I would have insisted on putting the cash in my bra, as no one had tried to get in there!We had already purchased our entry tickets, so while I waited John went home for 'drink' money, and was marked yet a fourth time on his way back. This time he elbowed the guy and sent him flying to the ground. Turns out we didn't need 'drink' money, as once you pay your entrance fee, all drinks are free! However, after a few drinks in the first disco, I wanted to visit the second one. I reckoned it is highly unlikely that I will ever attend a Semana Santa disco again, (not being a disco lover myself) so best do it right this time. The second disco insisted that as part of your entry you must buy a package of cigarettes! The sponsor of the disco was Pall Mall of course. All in all we had a nice time watching the crowds and drinking rum. I am glad I experienced it... but doubt I will race out to do it again.
Tonight, the party will rage on till 4 or 5 in the morning, but we are told that things will begin quieting down tomorrow and to quote my friend Marie, "Sunday, we get our town back."
