Welcome to the Mastering Midlife Podcast where we talk about all the crazy fun things that happen when you are a midlife mama. I'm your host, Heather London, and let's dig in. Hey friends, and welcome to Episode 54! Okay, today it's about story time. I'm in Papuillo, Nick Aragua, spending my days surfing, working, watching sunsets. You can hear in the background. You hear that, that's the fruit and vegetable truck rolling into town. It comes like once or twice a day.
And they announce what they have and they drive by and you run out and you get your stuff. Anyway, and the Wi-Fi is super sketch here. So we're just going to do the best that we can as people are working, the vegetable truck is going by, all of it. And for those of you that are watching, there's a huge avocado, the size of my head. Anyway, so today I wanted to do story time. Yeah, le papaya, le poco. I just love this place. It is like the smallest little town.
And the only thing to do here really is to surf, but it's a super cool community. I was like my did people and the beach is insane. I have never seen a beach like this. It goes on forever. The beach right out front, the main beach, papaya beach. You can't surf there. It's just for looking at and swimming and then you go down a little bit to the next beach and that's for the advanced surfers and then you go down even further and that's for me. It's called Beginners Bay.
And the waves roll their rollers. So they literally just roll in and they're super easy and gentle. Well, as gentle as a wave can be because mark my word, it will still crush you. Today I got bitch slapped and I mean that. I got bitch slapped. It hurt a lot. It was like, Will Smith ain't got nothing on the ocean. I'm telling you I was going over a wave and it was just starting
to break. So I timed it improperly and I made the mistake of turning my head to the side. I was pushing up on my board and then I turned my head to the side just to try to get over the wave and it slapped me across the face. It was so insane. It was so intense. Like there isn't a day that I, when I go surfing, that I don't get crushed by at least one wave, usually more, but at least one. Like I can't get out of the ocean without going through the the rinse cycle, which means it's
like a yard sale for when skiing, right? It is insane. So I have nothing but the utmost respect for mother nature. And which reminds me, our bodies are mother nature and that's why we want to really go with the process of midlife because even though it seems insane and it doesn't seem fair this whole midlife business, our bodies are doing it for our reason. And if we can support our bodies going through it, it's going to be easier. We're going to come out the other side way better,
but if we fight it or resist it, we're going to get bitch slapped. And I mean that, midmother nature is going to just totally crush us. Be like water. Be like water. This is what the famous quote from Bruce Lee. Be like water. Water can flow and water can crash. It just takes on whatever it forms it needs to. It can be gentle or it can be so powerful. So be like water. Anywho, I got sidetracked because it's story time. So I'm traveling through Nicaragua.
And I could not not go to this place called Omepete because it is two volcanoes in the middle of the largest lake in Central America, Lake Nicaragua. And one of them is an active volcano. I'm like, how could I not go there? And so I was on my little fairy boat and I do mean little fairy boat going across this huge lake, which by the way, as I was going across, I met up with this couple that I had met up with on a shuttle ride. Like you come across all
of these people. I have met so many amazing people on my trip. And I was on the shuttle ride going from Costa Rica to Nicaragua, which was a fun experience in itself. And this couple was on my shuttle and then they were on the fairy. So I was chatting them up. And the guy, so thoughtfully, dared that there are sharks in the lake. And I'm thinking it's a lake. How can there be sharks in it? And so I looked it up and it's legit. They're bull sharks. And bull sharks are super aggressive
sharks as well. But when you ask the locals, they're like, yeah, nobody ever gets attacked by a shark. So it's all good. So I went with that. And also the lake is really murky. Like you can't see. So that kind of made my brain feel better is that I couldn't see what was in the lake. So that was okay. It's not okay, but it's okay. So anyway, I'm going over on the fairy having this fun conversation with these people. And you see these huge volcanoes and you just get closer and closer
and they get bigger and bigger. And they are so amazing and breathtaking and awe-inspiring. And then as you land the fairy backs in and then you just, it's just a free frall. You get your butt off the fairy. And I had booked this place through Airbnb. And I can't remember what it's called. L something L peridotone, something like that. And I booked it because of the Google reviews. Every time I book a place, I read all the Google reviews and I make my decision based on that.
And I chose this place because the Google reviews talked about the guy who ran the place and how amazing he was. And his name is Jose. And they kept talking about how amazing Jose is. And if I'm going to go stay somewhere and they're all kind of similar, I always go to the place that talks about amazing hosts because they're the locals. They know what's going on. They can be super, super helpful in a situation like this because they know the lay of the land. So I will always pick a
place that has a super amazing host. So that's why I picked this place. And it was really cheap too. I'm trying to think of how much it was. It was like, I think it was like $50 for three nights. So Nicaragua is extremely inexpensive compared to Costa Rica. Costa Rica is very expensive. So that's another reason why I decided to go to Nicaragua. Well, it's an interesting story why I decided to go there. I'll save that for another day. Let's stick to the Jose story because I wanted
to share this with you guys. So I get off the fairy and then you have to take a little tuck tuck. So it's like exactly what you think a tuck tuck is. It's just like that teeny little vehicle. The Jose is like, oh, it's just $50. Cordoba is like no big deal. And so there wasn't any left. So there was a little car and I said, hey, I'm going to this place. And I said $50. And he laughed. He laughed at me and he
said, no, a hundred. And just by the way, he laughed, I thought, oh, there's no way. $50 was way too low, right? That was the way I thought. And his was his was a car, not a tuck tuck, but it was the same size as the tuck tuck. So in my brain, still a tuck tuck. So when you are new to a place, this is my experience. You don't mess around. You just, you know, get in the car and go to where you're going. Get to where you're going so that you can get your bearings so that you know where you are
and you can rest and kind of figure out what's going on. So I got in the car. And at the end of the day, it's like, it's not a big difference. So, but I just thought it was funny. I'm just going to do the math here for a second. Like 50 is the dollar 36. So, you know, it's like we're talking about extra dollar something. So it's not in no big deal, especially when you're going to your place because you're like, okay, I just want to get there because I don't know where I am. I don't know
the area or anything that's going on. So for me, no problem. Anyway, so I get there. We pull in and it's literally not very far. And we, and by the way, on the way back, the guy just said it, the tuck tuck said it was 50. And not only that, but we also stopped and picked up a family on my ride, like a whole family with a whole bunch of things that they were carrying and all that fun stuff. So the car was packed. And so I think we all they all just got a free ride, which is awesome.
I think that's fantastic. So that was a fun experience to start off the trip. But I keep getting sidetracked because I have so many stories. The whole point of this is we show up at this place. And he drops me off with my huge suitcase that I packed because I took my tennis racket with me because I was going to play tennis. And I never played tennis. And I've been lugging this huge suitcase around because of it. So that was a huge mistake. That was always that was really fun.
And so then he drives away. And there's like nobody at this place. And when I arrived to this place, I'm actually thinking like, is this place even a place? Is this place even open? Like nobody was around and it was nothing was going on. It looked like it had been abandoned. And not because nobody was there, but just because it looked like nobody had even lived there for a long time. Because that it was just really old and dusty and dirty and you know, like just stuff everywhere.
So I was thinking maybe I'm at the wrong spot. And then somebody comes out of a room and it's the girl who is doing the cleaning. And she doesn't speak any English. I speak a little Spanish. So she was saying that Jose will be back in a little bit. And I'm like, oh my god, what have I done? What have I done booking this place? This is insane because I was there for three nights and it was like $50. But keep in mind, like that's relative to being on this island.
And if you're thinking like, oh my god, $50 for three nights back where we live, that would be insane. And you would expect it to be crazy, crazy. But no, it was relative to this beautiful, crazy, mysterious little island. And then so I was she said, go upstairs and I walked upstairs. And there was a balcony that I was on. And you could see this gorgeous volcano perfectly. It was the most amazing view I was like in awe. And so I felt at ease when I when I saw that. And then let's just say
like maybe half an hour later Jose shows up. And he's this 65 year old guy on a scooter with a Hawaiian shirt. And he's missing a bunch of teeth. And he has like lived a full life. And he shows up and all of a sudden the place comes to life. And I'm like, damn, those reviews were bang on. From the moment he showed up, the whole place came to life. So it went from being like a place that I thought maybe hadn't been open for a couple of years to being like this beautiful vibrant
lively place just because of him bringing his energy with him. And the way he talked and the stories he told and everything was just going to be okay and everything was wonderful. And he too doesn't speak English, but he does speak Spanish. And if I asked him to speak slowly, and then I could understand what he was saying. But everything he said was big and glorious and vibrant. So not only was he this big energy, just everything he did had this big energy about him.
And then the whole place came to life. And then I realized like he started showing me around. And I could see the beauty of the place. It was a huge orchard. There was plants. There was there was mango and banana trees and and Mandarin trees like everything. It was so amazing. And he had a couple of dogs and a cat. His dogs were, well, I can't remember what their name's one was salsa. And the other one was I want to say like a character from the jungle book. But I can't remember
when it starts with an epmogli. Mogli? Is that from the jungle book? Anyway, these dogs. And then Lola was the white cat that just like ruled the nest. She was so funny. Anyway, these animals followed him around. And then he started to show me around the place. And it just every time he went somewhere and started explaining stuff, it came to life. Like he started showing me all the paintings that he would made. He had made. And then he showed me this one wall, which was a painting
of the two volcanoes. And all the things to do that you should go and see. And he painted it himself. He loves to paint. He loves to, he's very artistic. He loves to create things. And then I noticed to the right, there was like brand new rooms that he was building. So originally there was like three rooms. And now he was almost completed, has almost completed five new rooms that were brand spanking
new. And as soon as I went into them, I could see like they were just really beautiful and gorgeous. And so it's just the reason I wanted to tell you this story is because it was his energy. Like the place didn't change. It was his energy that changed. The second he walked in to make the place go from kind of like sketchville, like Amityville horror kind of thing to to like Disneyland. Just by showing up and being himself and bringing his energy. And I wanted to share this with you
because we are capable of that too. We're responsible for the energy that we bring wherever we go into every room that we enter. And if so we don't like what's going on. We don't like how we're feeling. Let's change our energy. Let us be the change. Let us be the magic that shows up. Like we can create that for ourselves in our own lives. And it was so inspirational to be around him. Now don't get me wrong. He was an interesting guy. Like there was a lot going on here. But everybody he
talked to. He brought joy to them. And I found out later through stories that he used to own like the biggest nightclub on Omepete, which is again an island of two volcano. So everybody knows everybody. And so he knew everybody because of this huge nightclub that he used to run. And then he was going to organize it like in order to get around on on volcano island. You need a scooter. And so he was going to organize it for me. It's like no problem. No problem because everything
is no problem. And he'll still be here in five minutes. Don't worry about it. And then it kept going on and on. And he couldn't. There was no scooters to be had. And so he felt bad. He was so nice. He's like get on the back of my scooter. And so he took me to the beach and dropped me off. He's like, I'll be back at six o'clock and you can watch the sunset here. I'm going to go do some stuff. So he dropped me off at the point, which was one of the places on his map that you need to go
and see. And I watched this beautiful sunset while seeing the volcano in the background. It was just so beautiful and so magical. And then at six o'clock, he and I had dinner there and everything. And then at six o'clock, he came on his scooter and he came to pick me up. And of course, when we're driving, he's like, beep, beep, honk and everyone's and we're like, hey, how you doing? And he's like,
hey, how's it going? Like just like the life of the party. And so as we're heading back, we're going down this road from the beach to the main road. And all of a sudden, this scooter stops. And he's like, oh no, Jose, you're so stupid. This is what he's saying to himself. What's wrong with me? I forgot to put gas in it. So we brought out a gas. Kind of like right beside a tobacco farm, but on the street where there's no lights. And then I just watched sunset. So it was starting to get darker,
darker and darker. And so he was trying to flag people down. And of course, he knows anyone that is in a tourist, he knows them. So he stopped to tuck, tuck and said, hey, can you go get me gas and come back, right? And he was really worried about me. And I'm like, Jose, don't worry. This is an adventure. It's fun. Don't worry about it. And he felt really, really bad. And as it got dark, then you could hear the monkeys come out. And there's howler monkeys, which are small
and a monkeys, but these weren't. These were like, and they called them Congo monkeys or something. And they were big, really big monkeys, but they were off in the distance. And as it got darker and darker and darker. And then eventually he flagged somebody down. All the tourists had two people on their little scooters. And he saw two people that were singles. And so he flagged him down. And he said to the guy, hey, take her into the town. So we didn't even know these people. And he's
like, yeah, sure. And so I jumped on the back of this scooter with this guy who turned out to be, I think his name was Jason. And he was from Germany. And he drove me into town. He actually took me to Jose's place and dropped me off. And on the way, he's like, why are you on a dark road with a local guy, you know, at night, what's going on here? And he was like, he was really thinking this was a horrible thing. I'm like, no, it's Jose. You don't know Jose because you're not a local. But
it's so he owns this Airbnb. Like he was doing me a favor of driving me here. Like he's such a nice guy. And he did, he was worried about me being alone in the dark. So he wanted, you know, you to drive me there because he wanted me to get home and get home safely and all that. And so it was so funny. That was my adventure with Jose and the adventures like they go on and on and on. But
I just wanted to share that with you because I was thinking that that is us. It's possible for us to to be that energy, no matter where we go, no matter what we do, we can create that for ourselves. And if you want to be that energy, how do you do that? It starts with your thoughts because we know that our thoughts create our results, right? We have a thought. The thought creates the feeling. The feeling creates an action. The action creates the result. That's where our thoughts create our
result. And so if you want to have a life like Jose where everything is big and fabulous and wonderful, and now I know that that's not realistic. Not everything is big. But if you want the majority of your time and energy to be spent, being amazing and having fun and good experiences and living life to the fullest and creating magic and awesomeness wherever you go, then it starts in your brain with your thoughts. And it's up to you to do that for yourself. That's how powerful
you are. Remember, if you're looking to others to do that, you're giving your power away. So always, always, always bring it back to yourself and ask yourself, how can I be more like Jose? How can I turn this into a Jose moment? How can I create some Jose magic right here in this moment right now? So that I'm creating something for myself that I love because I am the answer. I'm the magic. I'm the Jose. And I wanted to share this with you because I think it's so, so powerful. So I would
invite you to go out and just try it. Just the next thing you do, see if you can channel your inner Jose and create magic wherever you, magic for yourself wherever you go. All right, my friends. Thank you for listening. Always, always, always. Love yourself first and be like Jose. Have an amazing day.