On our last trip to Nicaragua, we rented a truck to navigate our way around the country. We had been to Nicaragua before but this time needed the freedom to navigate on our own.
We left the rental car agency feeling so confident…and not more than an hour later, got pulled over for speeding.
As you can probably guess, one steep fine later and we were off to Playa Colorado as planned!
Driving down the two-lane Nicaraguan highway I was thrilled with all I saw.
I was one with my inner travel geek, excitedly pointing and commenting at even the smallest bits of this new way of life I saw outside my window – a lifestyle so beautiful, so simple, and one so different from our own.
I could hardly get enough. This was why I traveled.
I felt a great sense of freedom knowing we could stop at any road-side vendor to mingle with the locals, try foreign foods and juices, have a go with the currency or buy handfuls of mystery candy wrapped in labels we couldn’t translate.
This renting-you-own-car-thing was for us, that was for sure.
So excited by the adventure, I turned around to see what my kids were taking in and instantly everything in my moment of excitement came to a grinding halt.
I was utterly disappointed.
Both my kids were on their devices, looking down, plugged in…tuned OUT.
Here we were in a beautiful new country and they were still connected to home.
We all know how it is with kids and devices – a tug of war between how much is time is allowed, when is it allowed, how much is too much…and on and on and on. Honestly and regretfully, I have never found a solution that works.
Well on this day in Nicaragua, all the answers came clear. By traveling in that truck I gained whole new perspective on just how much they were missing. And it made me quite sad.
A little nervous to drop the bomb, but so confident I was doing the right thing, I turned around to the kids and clearly stated the new family rule:
No devices when we are traveling from place to place in a foreign country!
“But the ride is two and a half hours long!”
“Watching this movie will make the time fly by!”
“We’re just driving. We’re not missing anything!”
Oh, you most certainly ARE.
I stayed silent (after all, I’d heard these responses before)…and within minutes my kids began noticing the same sights as me.
Things like:
Every house is made of brick or sheet metal.
Each family has a pig. And a well. And a makeshift outhouse in the back corner of their yard.
Brightly painted houses made of stucco (instead of brick) must signify wealth.
Many houses have beautifully painted ceramic figurines hanging outside their front door. (Later we found these at the local market and brought one home to hang on our house).
Chickens run wild and so do puppy dogs.
Life here was significantly different than our own.
Had they continued on their devices they wouldn’t have seen ANY OF THIS.
The four of us would have missed meaningful conversations, questions being asked and answers being shared.
My son would have missed the motorcycle hanging on the side of a house…and we all would have missed the lengthy and rather humorous conversation about why in the world someone would do such a thing.
Put simply…that car ride went from nothing to everything with one simple change of the rules.
We continued this rule for the rest of our trip and each car ride brought so much depth into our understanding of Nicaragua. And quite honestly, what we saw out the window during our drives are still the memories we talk about when someone asks us what Nicaragua was like.
I replay our trip many times thinking that if I had not made that rule change, we would have pulled into our gated neighborhood (we had rented a house just off the beach), and the kids really would not have seen Nicaragua at all.
Nicaragua is not a beautiful beach home with 24/7 power, running hot water, comfortable mattresses and crisp linens. There is no cleaning crew, round-the-clock security and a swimming pool in your backyard.
I am not saying that staying in places like this is wrong. We absolutely loved the house we rented and would go back in a heartbeat.
I’m just saying, don’t ever forget why you came.
You travel to see a new culture, explore something new, get out of your comfort zone, broaden your horizons, and provide experiences for your family.
Don’t let a device take that from you!
