Hey there! Sorry for another hiatus in writing... time seems to fly here and I never realize how long I've gone without posting something! So I'll update on some things that we've been doing in Nicaragua over the past couple of weeks.
Since Nicaragua is really safe in relation to the rest of the Central American countries (except for Costa Rica), we're encouraged to travel on our own on the weekends. Which is great, because we've been to a different place every week and they've all been incredible. The first weekend we took a day trip to Laguno de Apoyo which was perfect for sun-bathing, swimming, and kayaking (except for I forgot my bathing suit and had to swim in shorts and in tshirt). The second weekend we made it to Granada, a colonial town that is about an hour and a half away that has become very touristy in the past couple of years and is great for going out. We took Saturday to go to a market and a short boat tour of the giant Lake Nicaragua (the island that we're going to this weekend, Ometepe, takes 3 hours by boat to get to from Granada!). That night we went out on the town, which I have to say was great for a change to go to some fun bars, and then the next day Rachel and I went to a spa and got cheap cheap massages. The place was absolutely beautiful, and the receptionist was from France so I got to use a little French as well! The weekend trips are nice because, as much as we love our families, it's nice to get out and eat nice food from restaurants and sleep in hostels and the works.
This past week we spent the better part of 4 days in our rural stay in Nicaragua, in a region called Miraflor, which translated means "see flowers." I would say it's probably one of the most beautiful places we've been in Central America; mountains beyond mountains of green and trees and coffee fields. But as I picked up my camera to snap my first photo, realized that it was dead. I was SO BUMMED. The food and the scenery was absolutely amazing, and it was so tranquil in the mountains, it felt as if we were taking a relaxing retreat.
However, our tranquilo week was met with a crazy weekend. We traveled to Leon on Saturday morning to stay in a very cool hostel by the name of Bigfoot, that offers trips to the nearby Cerro Negro volcano for nothing else but... volcano boarding, which when CNN ranked the top 100 things to do before you die, was seen as NUMBER TWO. We hiked up the volcano (which is a certain type that I've forgotten the name of but it's made from it's own ash) with a wooden sled, which only took about an hour at most. Once we got to the top we suited up in giant orange jumpsuits and protective goggles, looked down the slope, and freaked out because it was so steep you couldn't see the bottom. I sat down on my sled to go and chickened out because I was so scared! But no worries, I went after two more people, and it was definitely one of the CRAZIEST THINGS I'VE EVER DONE. You're down the slope in under a minute (if you try at all to go fast), and I made it down at 71 kph (or 45 mph)! We came out looking like coal miners because all the black ash comes flying in your face, and you can't scream unless you don't mind volcanic rocks in your mouth. Rachel, Anna, and Maggie beat me by going 78 kph and 77 kph, but one guy broke the top 5 record by going 84 kph! Unfortunately, a Norwegian girl, who ended up going 81 kph, fell and broke her collarbone. I guess doing the 2nd most thrilling thing in the world does come with a risk.
This weekend we're heading to Ometepe and I'm so excited to be doing some hiking! But in the meantime, this week we're heading to a Nicaraguan baseball game, and then on Thursday having our own little Thanksgiving. Hopefully I'll get the chance to be doing some cooking for everyone!
Only 18 days until I come home! I'm feeling very ready for some Louisville in my life.
Becca
pictures soon!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
nicaragua beach pictures
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| pool playtime |
surfing lessons!!
rachel and me on kayaks at sunset. can you believe this view from our house?
catchin' fish on my birthday!
rachel and me on the sunset cruise for my birthday
last sunset
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
finally in Nicaragua!
hello all! I am finally writing my first post from Nicaragua, our final destination on this whirlwind of a semester. After a 3:30 am departure time, a 10 hour ride, and 3 border crossings, we made it into the capital city of Managua, but then immediately got on another bus en route to San Juan del Sur, the beach town where we rented a house for our fall break week.
Rachel, Eric, Dylan, Charles, Laura, Georgia, Dylan's sister Andrea, and myself, made it to Rivas, an inland town just about 25 minutes from the coast, just after sunset. Unfortunately, there were no more buses to take us to San Juan, so we hopped in taxis, directing them to the only hostel we knew the name of. The taxi drivers told us they could drop us off at the foot of the hill, but couldn't drive up the dirt road due to the poor conditions from rains. When we arrived, a police truck met us at the entrance and agreed to drive us up, but unfortunately the hostel only had 2 empty beds... and there were 8 of us. The police said that they would take us into the town to another hostel, but they seemed kind of sketchy about the whole situation. When we got back in the truck, 3 of us were in the cab with the rest in the bed, and Laura thanked the policeman for their help. They looked at each other and laughed. Kind of weird. Then they dropped us off about a mile from the hostel, claiming they couldn't take us any further but then asked us to write down our names. Also weird. We were so tired and hungry that we didn't care, and just agreed to take taxis into town. We finally ended Casa Oro, a really great surfing hostel right in the heart of San Juan, and we were so pleased to find that we got free drink tickets and breakfast in the morning.
The next morning after some grocery shopping we were picked up by the property managers of our house and driven out to our absolutely beautiful beach-front home. Honestly, we did not deserve such an incredible place. It had a pool, gates that opened up to the sand of the beach, and A/C in every bedroom (a luxury we had been dearly missing). We spent the first couple days lounging, reading, sea-kayaking (cuz the house had those too!), surf lessons, and partying... of course :). On my 21st birthday which fell in the middle of the week, we went back into San Juan and took a sunset booze cruise, which was absolutely amazing! We were able to stop and swim, fish a little, and just listen to music on the water while the sun went down. We had such incredible weather the entire week, I don't know how we got so lucky. After the boat trip we went into town for a beach front dinner, where a large table of old white folks were also celebrating their friend's 50th birthday. I had had a little too much to drink (it was my 21st, I'm allowed to!) and went up to the man whose birthday it was and told him, "don't worry! your not as old as my dad!" Oops.
Just as getting into San Juan was hard, getting out was almost harder. We called a cab for 9 am, a reliable one that our house keeper had recommended, so that we could catch the 10 am bus. They never showed, so we called kind of upset because we were going to miss the express bus. They told us that there was a giant truck stuck in the mud in the middle of the road that leads to our house, and that they wouldn't be able to get through. So we packed up all of our stuff and started walking, completing nearly two miles once we had reached our taxis. It was hot, humid, muddy with tons of puddles, and by the time we got there, I was not the happiest of people. Our cabbie was so great though and took us straight to Rivas so that we could catch the next express bus... which we also barely made. But we ended up in Managua safe and sound.
Needless to say, the entire week was exactly what we needed with tons of sleep and fun, gearing us up for the last six weeks of our semester. We've had two days of classes and moved in with our host families for the better part of the time spent here, and I can tell the time is going to fly. Rachel and I are living together in the house of Dona Marta, the sweetest little woman I've ever met who refers to us as "mi chicas." Both of our professors for our poli sci and history classes are such intelligent and strong women, and I'm really excited for learning more about Nicaragua's history.
Ciao!
Becca
pictures soon!
Rachel, Eric, Dylan, Charles, Laura, Georgia, Dylan's sister Andrea, and myself, made it to Rivas, an inland town just about 25 minutes from the coast, just after sunset. Unfortunately, there were no more buses to take us to San Juan, so we hopped in taxis, directing them to the only hostel we knew the name of. The taxi drivers told us they could drop us off at the foot of the hill, but couldn't drive up the dirt road due to the poor conditions from rains. When we arrived, a police truck met us at the entrance and agreed to drive us up, but unfortunately the hostel only had 2 empty beds... and there were 8 of us. The police said that they would take us into the town to another hostel, but they seemed kind of sketchy about the whole situation. When we got back in the truck, 3 of us were in the cab with the rest in the bed, and Laura thanked the policeman for their help. They looked at each other and laughed. Kind of weird. Then they dropped us off about a mile from the hostel, claiming they couldn't take us any further but then asked us to write down our names. Also weird. We were so tired and hungry that we didn't care, and just agreed to take taxis into town. We finally ended Casa Oro, a really great surfing hostel right in the heart of San Juan, and we were so pleased to find that we got free drink tickets and breakfast in the morning.
The next morning after some grocery shopping we were picked up by the property managers of our house and driven out to our absolutely beautiful beach-front home. Honestly, we did not deserve such an incredible place. It had a pool, gates that opened up to the sand of the beach, and A/C in every bedroom (a luxury we had been dearly missing). We spent the first couple days lounging, reading, sea-kayaking (cuz the house had those too!), surf lessons, and partying... of course :). On my 21st birthday which fell in the middle of the week, we went back into San Juan and took a sunset booze cruise, which was absolutely amazing! We were able to stop and swim, fish a little, and just listen to music on the water while the sun went down. We had such incredible weather the entire week, I don't know how we got so lucky. After the boat trip we went into town for a beach front dinner, where a large table of old white folks were also celebrating their friend's 50th birthday. I had had a little too much to drink (it was my 21st, I'm allowed to!) and went up to the man whose birthday it was and told him, "don't worry! your not as old as my dad!" Oops.
Just as getting into San Juan was hard, getting out was almost harder. We called a cab for 9 am, a reliable one that our house keeper had recommended, so that we could catch the 10 am bus. They never showed, so we called kind of upset because we were going to miss the express bus. They told us that there was a giant truck stuck in the mud in the middle of the road that leads to our house, and that they wouldn't be able to get through. So we packed up all of our stuff and started walking, completing nearly two miles once we had reached our taxis. It was hot, humid, muddy with tons of puddles, and by the time we got there, I was not the happiest of people. Our cabbie was so great though and took us straight to Rivas so that we could catch the next express bus... which we also barely made. But we ended up in Managua safe and sound.
Needless to say, the entire week was exactly what we needed with tons of sleep and fun, gearing us up for the last six weeks of our semester. We've had two days of classes and moved in with our host families for the better part of the time spent here, and I can tell the time is going to fly. Rachel and I are living together in the house of Dona Marta, the sweetest little woman I've ever met who refers to us as "mi chicas." Both of our professors for our poli sci and history classes are such intelligent and strong women, and I'm really excited for learning more about Nicaragua's history.
Ciao!
Becca
pictures soon!
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