Nicaragua

Another eventful few days. After being lazy for a few days on Ometepe while we waited for Kori to start feeling better we were ready for some action. We caught the next bus to a town called Alta Gracia so we could catch another bus to Santo Damingo. Alta Gracia had a very old church right across the street from the bus stop which housed 4 different structures that were carved by the Mayans. The structures were about as large as a person with the only thing protecting them being a very small thatched roof. We were able to get some really nice pictures and had the ability to get up close to these structures and examine every fine detail, something that would be hard to do in the states. After that we caught our bus and were off to Alta Gracia.

When we arrived in Santo Damingo we found a very nice hostel that was right off the water. The electricity was off but that is something we have gotten very used to. Electricity down here seems to be less of a necessity and more of a luxury. That night we found a nice little restaurant that had a generator running so we could have lights while we dined and even allowed us to pick out a movie to watch. After dinner we headed back to the hostel to call it a night since we were so tired from traveling all day.

The next day we woke up and decided we needed to go all the way back to the town we started in on Ometepe since there was only one ATM on the whole island and we weren´t sure we had enough money to pay for a few more nights. We decided hitchhiking would be the best method since we had all day to kill and the bus system was starting to become a little annoying. After walking for only a little bit a family stopped and gave us a ride for a while and absolutely refused to let us give them any Cordobas as compensation. They eventually had to turn off so we thanked them and continued walking in the direction of Moyagapa. Just a few minutes later another truck stopped to pick us up and told us they were headed all the way to were we were going. The ride seemed to be going very smoothly until we came across two vehicles stopped in the middle of the road. The driver went around the first car and then also stopped in the middle of the road. The passenger started to get out of the car when we noticed he was holding a revolver that he very slyly checked to see if the bullets were in or not. He walked over to the other car and gave the 16 year old driver the pistol. We were all extremely nervous but thought it would just be better to sit there and see what was going to happen in the next few minutes. After a few minutes a police officer went and talked to the guy and ended up joining us on our hitchhiking adventure. Were still not sure exactly what was going on but we were happy to be on our way again. When we got to town we got a nice meal, spent some time at the internet cafe and treated ourselves to a $1.50 haircut, which I have to say was much better then any haircut I´ve ever gotten at Cost Cutters. The rest of that day pretty much consisted of us hitchhiking back to town and then going out to dinner in a nice little cabina right off the water.

The next day we decided to hike the Madera Volcano so we hired a local guide who was going to guide us in the right direction while he pointed out some local flora and fauna. We were told the hike was going to be 12 kilometers so we stocked up on water and snacks and got ready for an ass kicking day. As we started walking we got to hike through fields of boulders that contained ancient petroglyphs all around us. About four tiring and heavy breathing hours later we arrived at the summit when the guide told us it was just a few short minutes until we would be down in the crater. When we got in the crater the clouds were extremely thick and the temperature had dropped about 30 to 40 degrees. There was a crater lake up there that we were told we cold swim in so we thought how could we pass up an opportunity like that and jumped in. Little did we know the hike down was when the real adventure began. Not even 2 minutes into the hike Mike started to get a leg cramp and could literally see his muscle pulsating in his leg. At that same moment we started to hear thunder off in the distance. We hung out for a bit until his leg loosened and then we were off again. The first 2 kilometers seemed to be going smoothly until I started to feel a sharp pain in my leg related to a running incident that happened 6 months prior. I knew the rest of the way down was going to be a test of our willpower. When we arrived at the 3 km mark everyone sat down to take a break and I told our guide that I was going to keep going because I was worried that my knee might completely go out and I wanted to keep up the momentum while I had it. As I continued on my journey down I tried to stay focused on keeping the right trail and not on the pains in my leg. Unfortunately I did not succeed end ended up taking a wrong path. Eventually I stopped to wait for the group and realized that I was waiting there to long and something was not right. I had to head back up the trail about half of a km and found another turn off that I thought might be the right one. At this point I knew I wasn´t completely lost but I was starting to get a little nervous since I could see the sun going down in the distance. I ran into a couple that told me they saw three guys headed in that direction so I knew I was at least finally headed back in the right direction. When I finally arrived at the bottom I saw Kori and Mike nervously staring up the trail with anticipation hoping to see me coming around the corner. When I got to them we all made a big sigh of relief and they told me the second the guide got to the bottom and realized I wasn´t there he literally took off in a dead sprint to come find me without saying anything. Luckily he came back about 5 minutes later and was also very relieved to see me. As we rode back to town we all joked about how much we craved a good meal and an ice cold beer and couldn't wait to get back for one. Plans changed when we all laid our heads down for a minute and woke up about 12 hours later. The next day we decided we had seen what we wanted to see on the island and we were off to catch the ferry and then bus to the town of Grenada.

Grenada is a very large town with even larger colonial style buildings. They are all painted in very bright colors and contain extreme detail and very highly arched doorways. We spent one day exploring the town to see what it had to offer. The next day we took a day trip with some friends we made to the town of Masaya which has the largest market place in all of Nicaragua. Afterwards I treated myself to a massage at a place that trains local blind people how to give a good massage. It was a nice treat and barely cost me a thing. Nicaragua seems to be a very beautiful country that has a lot of indigenous culture.

Right now its about 7 in the morning and our plan for today is to take another day trip to a place called the monkey hut. it is another hostel that sits off a crater lake that is about 750 feet deep. They have activities such as kayaking and swimming from the beach to random floating docks. The weather is very nice and we are looking forward to another active day.

Once again to everyone at home reading this I miss you all and I cant wait to get home to see everyone and fill them in on the last 2 months of my life. Oh, and to everyone at Jays, you might as well throw some lobster mac n´cheese on the back burner because that has been one of my driving forces and I cant wait to get home and eat about 4 orders of it.