sweating and soaking it in

Our new photos are live on our Flickr site! Check out these beauties...

Free Travel is fun but not free

Hey everyone!

On Tuesday April 12th we said so long to the beautiful Playa and Parque Maderas and drove to Grenada to kick off our week of free-travel. This week was different than the rest of our trip in that the students decided where we go and arrange the accommodations, transportation, and other logistics to make things happen. We were led by Kaile'a, Lukas, and Emily and they did an amazing job, as for the most part everything went smoothly and we all had a blast. When we got to Grenada, our hostel didn't have our reservation (typical of traveling and hostels around the world), but they found room for us in the end. However, soon after getting settled, Lukas, Peter, Jared and Kaile'a went back to their room to find their backpacks swimming in inches of water that was pouring out of a hole in the toilet. They changed rooms and luckily we had no further mishaps at the hostel. Over the next two days, we explored the city - eating local and street food as well as some western fare, buying gifts for friends and family back home, taking pictures, and as usual getting lost in the open air markets (mercados) and thrift stores that line the street.

Grenada used to be the capital of Nicaragua, but when the government moved to Managua, the city slowed down and people relaxed into their rocking chairs surrounded by the beautiful colonial architecture of historic churches and government buildings. At the same time, wealth disparities were ever-present. It was more visible on the city outskirts where houses lose their courtyards, and move back from the street to gain front yards, livestock, and chain-link fences. Within the city blocks and the Parque Central, we saw children sniffing glue to kill their hunger, and people hawking hammocks or selling handmaid jewelry for a living. Like the other cities we have visited and gotten to know, poverty runs in an undercurrent behind awe-inspiring churches, waiters in ties, and knock-off Hollister or ´Boy Ban´ sunglasses styles.

One of my favorite moments in Grenada was when Montana and I were walking back from the post office and stumbled upon a set of artist studios where teachers and university students were painting and printing lithographs, linocuts, and woodblock pieces. I had found an art gallery and talked to a man who was a teacher the day before, so at the studios I saw him from the street and he invited us in to look around. Much of the paper they were using was recycled or made from coconut bark. The prints depicted the artists' takes on traditional and modern Nicaraguan life. It was a treat to get to see. All in all, we were happy to visit a final Nicaraguan city before heading to Costa Rica.

On Thursday we took a four hour ferry ride across Lake Nicaragua (you can even see it on a map of the globe) to the volcanic island of Ometepe. Our hotel sat in the saddle of the two volcanoes - Conception and Maderas. On our first full day there, we walked along the lake beach for a long time, got some typical Nica food for lunch, and continued to walk along the road to Ojo de Agua, a stream contained in swimming pools. Helena learned to blow bubbles underwater, and Peter, Montana and Jared were at their usual ridiculous antics, this time in the water. That night as it was Jackie's 26th birthday, we celebrated with cake and ice cream (delish), a giant card, and smashing a piñata of Ariel the Little Mermaid. The next day half the group went kayaking, and the other half, horseback riding. I ended up bro-ing it out with all of the guys in ocean kayaks, paddling along the coast over supposedly bull shark infested waters. We reached a sheltered river tributary and saw many types of birds and floating plants going up and down the tributary's many curves. We anticipated seeing crocodiles but unfortunately there were too many people on the river that day (Or, more likely, all of the boys' splashing and racing around scared them off). Meanwhile, the rest of the women were riding horses around the island. Helena showed everyone up with her English riding skills, and they were all excited that they got to gallop. That night, our whole group was sunburned or sore or both.

The following day was Palm Sunday and our most complicated travel day. We drove by Catholic processions in the streets on the way to the ferry, and saw many people get off the boat, as Ometepe is a popular place to spend Semana Santa (Easter Week - in Nicaragua Thursday through Sunday is a paid vacation for the whole country). After the ferry and a short taxi ride, we arrived at the boarder to cross by foot into Costa Rica. The border itself is a kilometer long, full of various passport checkpoints and snaking colorful lines of people waiting with their shopping items. It took us less than an hour to be officially into Costa Rica, but for people going into Nicaragua for Semana Santa or on busier days, it can take up to 10 hours of waiting under the hot sun to complete the crossing. Sweaty and tired, we found a bus that took us to Liberia in the Guanacaste region. After spending a day there, we were off to the Nicoya Peninsula for our turtle project! Read Peter's entry below to find out how that was..It was really fun.

Now we are in the city of San Jose for a few days before flying to Roatan. It's really crazy to think that we will be going back to the States in 10 days! Parents: be aware that your child will be going through culture shock for the first week or two back. We are definitely excited to see you, but sad to bid farewell to this group that has become a family and all of our adventures in Central America. I know I will go through withdrawal to not see these best friends very often anymore. But I do not want to end on a sad note, as we still have so much to see and experience here and in the rest of life.

Happy Easter and Passover to you all, I hope the day is filled with family and friends and relaxing!

Much love, especially to my parents and Aldis and Cianan : )

Devon

Buscamos Tortugas en Camaronal

We finally arrived in Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula last Tuesday, wet and tired after a long day of travel in public buses and rainstorms. They fed us right away on rice and beans, and we tried our best to stay awake for their presentation on this recently created turtle sanctuary, wildlife refuge, and public access beach called Camaronal.

Four types of turtles visit this three kilometer stretch to lay their eggs, and without protection they don't stand a chance. Animals will dig up nests for food, and so will humans -- each egg sells for about two dollars, and a single nest often contains more than a hundred. We slept well that first night, despite the thin mattresses and teetering wooden bunks in our open-air dorm.

We woke up sweating in the morning heat, and, after a breakfast of rice and beans, began our daily work: building a new beach access trail, digging up unhatched eggs in the nursery, excavating drainage ditches behind the kitchen, and picking up the trash that washes up on the shore. We spend only two or three hours on these projects each day because the heat becomes suffocating around noon. After lunching on rice and beans we find ways to occupy ourselves, reading, writing, trying to sleep. But the oppressiveness of the heat makes even thinking difficult, and we pass many hours lost in inactivity and sporadic conversation. The ocean water is almost too warm to be refreshing, and its waves too violent for swimming. The beach is most beautiful just before sunset, when the sea breezes cool our overheated bodies and the sky fills with color. Playa Camaronal faces south, towards the equator-- just ten degrees away, it feels like we can almost see it. The sun sets behind a jungle-covered hill to our right, and never touches the water.

Our real work begins after a dinner of rice and beans supplemented with canned tuna, when the turtles climb out of the dark sea to lay their eggs and leave wide tracks behind them in the sand. Night patrols last from six pm to six am in three hour shifts. At these times the porch of our main building has the subdued and nocturnal feeling of an isolated military post: people scattered across picnic tables in near darkness, sipping coffee or playing cards while others doze in hammocks. Our voices are low murmers compared the the constant crashing of the surf behind us. As our designated shift approaches we gather, groggily waiting for the group before us to return with our equipment: a backpack containing clipboards, measuring tape, plastic bags and gloves. Finally we walk the short trail to the beach -- in moonlight, if there is any; with dim red-covered flashlights if not.

The beach at night doesn't lend itself to easy description. The waves roll and crash, invisible except for their glowing white foam, and as they recede the wet sand reflects the moon and starlight. The walking is monotonous and the breeze constant, warm or cold depending on the time of night. Washed up trees, polished driftwood skeletons, rise up eerily against the horizon. Something, still, is lost in these details -- the mystery and expansiveness of the ocean at night, the incredible reality of searching for turtles on a wild Costa Rican beach.

-Peter

Fun in the Sun

After packing up and leaving Leon, we headed out to Playa Madera. Playa Madera is a little beach about fifteen minutes outside of San Juan del Sur were surfers come from all over to catch some waves. Once we were over the initial awe of the amazing accommodations called Parque Maderas, we headed over to a small school in a nearby village to start our volunteer project.

The school has 78 students ranging from two to thirteen years of age divided into three classes. The first day we helped out by picking up the trash around the school and the street. There is a big problem here with the disposal of garbage. Massive amounts of trash just pile up on the roads, and the trash that does get picked up is burned in people´s backyards. The ever-present smell of toxic burning plastic is motivation to bring in more volunteers to improve the way trash is handled. We sorted all of the litter we picked up and took the plastic out with us, so that at least that little bit was not burning into the air. The saddest part is that the kids don´t seem to realize that littering and burning plastic is bad. We tried to instill some new ideas about protecting the environment as we worked. The second day we spent the morning planting over 50 new plants at the school. We planted fast-growing trees to bring shade to the yard, fruit trees to provide the kids with snacks, and a small herb garden. The kids were all watching with excitement as we worked, and happy decided on a group of students to water the plants every day. In the afternoon, we taught English lessons and ran a workshop to teach how to make recycled paper. The hope is that someone will really enjoy making the paper and decide to turn it into a business, making handcrafted cards to sell.

The English lessons were a big hit. All of the students, pre-school age to adults, couldn´t wait to learn! I worked with the preschoolers. It was hard to tell if they were really soaking up the color vocabulary we were teaching them until the next day. We returned to the school in the morning and Dariela, a five year old girl who barely spoke the day before, held up a yellow flower and started shouting "Está yellow! Está yellow!" It just about melted all of our hearts.

All of the volunteering has been juxtaposed with hours and hours of beach time every day! Almost everybody has had unbelievable success learning to surf. I, unfortunately, am not one of those people. I´m the unlucky one who has been on crutches for the past two weeks, but I´ve had a blast watching the others master the waves. They´re starting to look like pros! Aside from the occasional sprained ankle, blistering sunburn, swollen black eye, skin fungus, jelly fish, scorpion, or wasp sting, we are all still in one piece! We´re spending our last days at Playa Madera surfing, swimming, and sunbathing as the excitement for free travel builds. Check back soon to see how it goes!

Love, Emily

Rocking Chairs and Gray Hair

We made it to Nicaragua and have been in the city of Leon for about a week. Even though we've been in Nicaragua for just a short time, we've quickly noticed how different it is from Guatemala. First of all, it’s hot. Day and night. It is even 89 degrees at 9 PM. The people here are also very friendly, and busy. Whether selling plantain chips and Hollister shirts, biking their kids to school, or demonstrating for the re-election of Daniel Ortega, the city is filled with life.

All this movement must breed a necessity for equal rest. Peeking inside the houses, I've noticed that almost every house has an open courtyard with at least one tree and about eight to ten wooden rocking chairs (according to our Spanish teachers they are comfy). Almost every household has rocking chairs, often framing the equally ubiquitous open courtyard. Our Spanish school even had a small courtyard, where a mango tree would drop its mangos and provide us daily snack. At sunset many people bring their chairs out to the curb to chat with their neighbors.

Speaking of food, we have also noticed a change in the food. The traditional food of Nicaragua is Gallo Pinto--whole red beans mixed with rice. There is also an increase in fruits, fresh juices, and licuados (blended fruit shakes), perhaps to counteract the intense heat.

As for school, our Spanish teachers know so much besides Spanish. They have been willing and able to tell us details about Nicaragua's Revolution. One of our field trips included a visit to a huge mural depicting all parts of the Nicaraguan uprising. Most of us are really enjoying Leon: for a change the city feels very safe (it nearly always felt okay to walk home after dark) and there is a huge feeling of personality and friendliness from practically everyone we encounter.

One of the best things we did in Leon was volcano boarding. We drove about an hour from the city to the youngest volcano in Nicaragua called Cerro Negro. Trampling over lava and cinder, we climbed to the top of the active volcano, looking down into the smoking crater. We changed into ridiculous neon green and yellow jumpsuits along with elbow and knee pads, gloves and goggles. We then grabbed our boards, either a wooden snowboard or a plank of wood and piece of rope made into a toboggan, and slid down a 50 degree angle hill. We each flew down the mountain, reaching crazy speeds, with gray pumice-like volcanic rocks flying at our face. By the time we hit the bottom, we had cinder and rocks glued to our bodies, in our noses, ears, teeth, eyes, toes, and bellybuttons. It was also caked into our hair, but we all thankfully walked away uninjured and with big smiles on our faces.

With love from Leon,

Kaile'a

Semuc and Beyond

Hi all!

Well I´m sorry to be posting so late and so little but there´s just so much going on and so little time to write about it!

A lot has happened in the past few weeks since we left Rocj Pomtila.Our first stop was the beautiful mirador at Semuc Champey where we climbed the breathtaking waterfalls and explored a network caves. We began our cave tour by wading into the mouth of the cave with only candles to light our way, but within minutes the water quickly rose above our waistlines. We walked farther and farther in, slipping on rocks and occasionally swimming with our candles raised above our heads as we climbed slimy ladders to higher platforms, only to drop back down into the chilly water. When we had gone as far as we could, we turned around, expecting to go back the same way we came. However, we faced a slight twist.

Instead of the ladders we treacherously climbed on the way in, we now faced a small tunnel in the rock with water gushing through it--the idea was for us to hold our breath and drop through the hole without seeing the other side. At that point I honestly would have rather just stayed inside the caves forever, but I eventually overcame my fear joined the rest of the group on the other side. I dont think I've ever been so happy to see the sun. Óverall the experience was well worth it but it was definitely one of the scarier things we´ve done.

Since then we´ve stayed in San Andres, completed spanish school and lived with families in homestays (and now the same in Leon, Nicaragua!!!!!). In between we took a day trip to the famed Mayan ruins of Tikal which was incredible and of which I hope to post more about later when I have a bit more time.

Basically, things are great, a lot has been happening and I´m sure Kailéa will be filling you in on all of the more recent things soon.

Lots of love
xxxxxx
Helena