Caution: Volcano Boarding in Nicaragua and Other Fun Adventures

Even though I had a completely fabulous Christmas in my site and kept busy during December, I was at a point where I needed a vacation. Most of my original training group came except our friend Andrew who just had his parents visit him. He was missed of course. This left Tricia, Tyler, Elsa, Jamie and I. Most of us started off in San Salvador together and took a 5 am bus to Managua that took around 14 hours and then we headed to Granada. This is where I began to fall in love with Nicaragua. I have never seen so many travelers in one place since Semester at Sea. Our first reaction was…there are so many gringos!!

 

(everybody...JUMP!)

 Tons of restaurants, bars and shops seemed to cater to our international tongue. I treated myself to as many bagels with cream cheese as possible and the four of us basically walked around, ate and drank for three days straight. It was much needed and lovely. After Granada, we headed South on a packed chicken bus to the beach to meet up with our friend Cory who was working at a hotel on Popoyo Beach on the West Coast. The hotel had incredible food (Beef Mango Curry one night, fresh granola with yogurt and fruit salad for breakfast, could it get any better?) and a beautiful beach in the middle of nowhere. Tricia met up with us there after being home for Christmas and we all celebrated New Years together with a bunch of pretty awesome Nicaraguan PCV’s.

After bringing a $2 Palm Tree beach hat back into style for three days we headed with Cory to Leon. We then meet up with an adventurous couple from Texas whom we had met in Granada that continued to travel with us along the trip (Maddi and Julian, when are you coming to El Sal?). Leon was a University town and VERY hot. We did experience Volcano Boarding-which was more like Volcano sledding/sliding down Cerro Negro Volcano. It was definitely an experience to tell the grandkids. 

 

Obvious, the volcano was erupting...we posed like Charlie's Angels and slide down as fast as possible!

 (Ringing the church bell at Mercedes Church in Granada            Watching Cigars being made by hand

Apparently you can only “Volcano Board” in Nicaragua and in Australia, glad I checked that off the bucket list! We also visited the Flor de Cana (Nicaraguan Rum) Factory and did a tour similar to one at University Studios which includes short rides on a little tram/train thing with brightly colored padded seats. We were given 18 year aged rum to try and watched the barreling process. I found it really interesting and by the end of it, plus our two samples, I was having a very good tour. :-)

The last two nights of our trip was spent in Estelí located in Northern Nicaragua. Another PCV from Nica named Kate ended up meeting up with us as well (who is actually from Tucson and went to U of A). Small world. In Estelí, we visited the Somoto Canyon for a floating/hiking/cliff jumping tour. Since the water was supposed to be chilly, we came prepared with more Flor de Cana for a healthy breakfast.

No judgment people, we were on vacation.

 

Red Life Vest: Don't Worry PC, we followed the rules!

Estelí is known for their cigars and leather products (specifically boots), so after the tour Kate and I did some shopping, but considering I already have two pairs of cowboy boots at home (plus I did not see any pink leathery ones…) I decided against getting another pair and just buying cigars for friends. Our last night, we ended up visiting a few bars and a club outside the city, where we ended up dancing until 4 in the morning. I felt I was in college again, since I do not remember the last time I was up that late. 

Not so Mad-Hatters

We headed home on January 6^th, the bus trip was quicker which was nice and we enjoyed our last night in San Salvador. We wanted to see a movie, but I quickly passed out at 9 pm. Tricia’s generous parents treated us to the Marriott for the night and it was SUCH a nice treat to stay in a beautiful hotel after lots of traveling. We did laundry, took as many hot pressurized showers as possible with the fluffiest of towels. I took a bath. It was a slice of hotel heaven. I have a whole new appreciation for a hotel room.

In the morning, I treated myself to a Starbucks Chai (oh San Salvador, you are like the US but in Spanish) before grocery shopping and heading back to La Loma.

Returning to site was not as bad as I thought. I was really worried about returning from the states and remembered how overwhelmed I felt to return. But, I feel comfortable here and it is easier knowing I only have 9 months left. I missed my host family and I had a few care packages waiting for me which always makes things easier.

I would love to go back to Nicaragua someday; it was so much easier to travel, a lot more touristy which made things so easy to organize versus El Salvador. I highly recommend it. Feliz Año Nuevo!