Perhaps my favorite story to tell about my time in Nicaragua is set on this beach, Play Coco, located in the southern tip of Nicaragua, a few miles from the border with Costa Rica.
Located just far enough from San Juan del Sur, Playa Coco is a beautiful place, quiet and remains somewhat untouched by the development that swept Nicaragua's more pristine beaches.
But now the story:
Erika and I were walking to a the beach one afternoon when we heard a piglet squealing for its life. We ran to the scene, and there we saw the little pig sheltering underneath its owner's legs, while a huge hound dog accosted him. Behind the dog was a woman chasing the dog with stick, trying to get the pesky pooch away from the frightened piggy.
The woman's name was Maria. She was in her early 20s and married to Bill, a 60-year-old man who owned the house where Erika and I were staying for a few days. She came from an impoverished family of ten in a town about an hour from the beach. Bill and Maria had a kid.
Bill used to be in the oil business in Mexico until he decided to retire in Nicaragua. There, he started a Real Estate business and manages land around the beach.
One of his clients is Illinois Congressman
Jerry Weller, who has announced that he will not seek reelection after being pegged with accusations of corruption, especially involving land he owns in Nicaragua. Weller, apparently,
did not disclose land deals he made in Nicaragua, a violation of rules congressmen have to follow.
Weller is married to
Zury Rios, the daughter of Rios Montt, a former Guatemalan dictator blamed for the deaths of more than 200,000 people during the 1980s.
And the piglet was owned by a turtle poacher who was camping on the beach, waiting for the next arrival of sea turtles at the nearby nature reserve to steal eggs.
A tired, female turtle heads back to the ocean after burying her eggs.
A female turtle struggles to bury her eggs in the sand, while a scavenger bird looks on.
A fisherman looks for a cell phone signal.
Playa Coco, dawn
