Bro and Cuz Visit!

Finally the first family members came to visit after a full year down here! I was excited and nervous as I waited at the Managua airport watching Clay and Sarah's flight get delayed on the arriving flight screen. I have never seen two people look more like tourists, and then I had flash backs of arriving in Managua last May with a bunch of gringos and wondered what I looked like then. We made our way up north to Chinandega with both Clay and Sarah reviewing their spanish vocabulary as we passed street signs and billboards in Managua. Our adventure started out waiting for a microbus to fill so we could head north to my city of Chinandega. Sundays are slow for travel so we waited and waited some more as vendors tried to sell me books on reading dreams and give me long winded speeches about how much they love the U.S. Sarah and Clay just stared in exhaustion until we finally filled up enough to take off.

We arrived in Chin with a quick stop off at my house to meet the host family and then straight to Coco Loco, my second home. We reached just in time for one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen out here. It was a perfect week to be up at Coco Loco as we were the only guests along with one other friend who was visiting the Coco Loco yoga teacher Nikki. The owners Jamie, Ben, his girlfriend Chris, surf teacher Jackie, Waves of Hope volunteer Jason, yoga teacher Nikki and the three of us had volleyball tournaments where we invited the locals to play along with us. Coco Loco's right hand man Orlando took MVP with his spikes, granted the only rule was you had to have a beer at all times. The week consisted of surfing, yoga, volleyball, walking the beach and just catching up over the years the three of us had missed since growing up together.

On Wednesday we had a special invitation to go up to a friend's farm at the base of Consiguina Volcano. Sarah, Clay, Jackie, Jason and I loaded up the truck with Orlando and drove up at 5:30 am. By 7 am we were scaling the side of the volcano in an open air four wheel beast you might know as a unimog. Branches were smacking us through the side of the truck and bugs of all kinds crawled amongst us as well climbed the side of the mountain. Once we reached the top we could peer down in to the crater and see across the ocean to the islands of El Salvador and Honduras. After hiking around the rim and taking in the view we headed back down to the ranch house for lunch.

My friend and owner of the farm Luis and his parents laid out a wonderful spread of beautifully cooked steak, potatoes, salad, rice, local cheese, avocado, and cucumber fresco with vodka. After a few more beers we decided it was time to saddle up the horses and head out in to the wetlands. All of the horses were beautiful, well taken care of and very well trained. We made our way through the wetlands wading through rivers, running across wetlands and even swam with the horses in one area. The river was covered with bright green lily pads that juxtapose the mellow blue of the sky. It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever scene. As we ran through the wetlands water splashed up on and all around us catching the light of the setting sun. Jackie and I at the head of the pack just let the reins go as the horses ran releasing all their pent up energy.

My horse Gatiado, the largest of the pack had to swim across first

We continued to talk about that day as one of the most memorable experiences of the trip. The farm had so much character and a ton of history from the war during the 80s. Of course Luis' family made the experience unforgettable with their hospitality as well. The rest of the week at Coco Loco ended with a bang as we headed to Al Cielo for dinner our last evening. Two parisians moved down to Nicaragua, fell in love with surfing, and built cabanas and a restaurant on the beach close to Coco Loco. The food is absolutely amazing and they infuse their own rums and olive oils. Ben, Chris, Jason, Jackie, NIkki, Ckay, Sarah, and I made our way over to enjoy the sun setting on Nahualapa bay where we surfed each morning. We started the meal with a pineapple infused rum shot and the night just got more out of control from there. The wine, pizza, fish, chocolate mouse and more great food just kept flowing form the kitchen. We ended the night with yet another bottle of wine back at Coco Loco and a mini dance party. The next day it was hard to say goodbye, not because we were hung over, but because we had just spent the week as a close knit family and it was truly a blast!

Saturday we made our way to Granada and happened to meet up with several Peace Corps Volunteers from my group. Sarah and Clay had the chance to meet my best Peace Corps friends, which was really neat for me to mesh both families. Sunday we all watched the soccer game, toured around the city, and did a pre-birthday dinner for Clay with all my peace corps friends that were still left. Kelli went all out and got a chocolate cake to celebrate! Clay's birthday was Tuesday so we decided to celebrate in the morning with a zipline tour on Mombacho Volcano. The three of us got our own tour with two guides that were absolutely hilarious. They were constantly trying to scare us and act like we were going to fall off the platforms when we were really already attached to the line. The zipline itself was pretty mellow compared to the one I did in Costa Rica, but we got to backwards, upside down and on top of each other which spiced it up. 

    

   

Granada is known for its colonial architecture which pulls in plenty of tourism. We stayed at the beautiful Casa San Francisco which is owned by a previous Peace Corps volunteer. The rooms are all unique and ours overlooked their quaint swimming pool and fountain. We decided to be the tourists that we are and take a boat tour of the isletas(mini islands) off the coast of Granada in the gigantic Lake Nicaragua. My Peace corps friends Luis joined us on what we turned in to our own booze cruise. We stocked up on beer and headed down to the dock like dorky tourists in a horse drawn carriage. Our guide ended up being a really neat guy who gave us a personal tour and history lesson on Granada. At one point we had a monkey named Lucy chillen on our boat with us a we enjoyed our cold beers. It was amazing to hear about the famous individuals who had purchased these islands and see the high quality of architectural talent that went in to building the houses that inhabited them. After yet another solid Birthday dinner of pizza and pasta we headed to a bar named Imagine where we jammed the rest of the night away to Neil Young, Crosby Stills and Nash, the Doors and other great classic rock hits.

Our last full day together was spent at the famous Laguna de Apollo which you may have seen in my earliest posts from training. It was a blast from the past sitting along this beautiful lake's shores deep inside the volcanic crater and looking out in to the crystal clear water. It took me back to the days of training where there was no freedom and this beautiful place was my only escape on a Sunday morning. I remember the hour hike straight up and down to reach this paradise. Funny how much has changed since then.

Over all it was an amazing trip and it was hard to watch Clay and Sarah leave. It was just like the good old days when we spent our summers together growing up. I'm really lucky to have such an awesome brother and cousin! You guys rock! Thanks for coming to see my life down here! And special thanks to Sarah for teaching us the drunk shakey face!

Women's Leadership Camp at Coco Loco

As you can probably tell by previous posts, I spend a good chunk of my time at Coco Loco located on Chinandega's coast volunteering at their nonprofit Waves of Hope.  This is where you can typically find me on the weekends surfing and advising my women's jewelry group.  This past weekend another Waves of Hope volunteer, Jillian, and I decided to host a women's leadership camp at Coco Loco.  Jillian was a previous Peace Corps Volunteer is Macedonia working in youth development so we immediately had the same ideas of how we wanted the camp to run.

We targeted young ladies between the ages of 12 and 18 and now looking back I didn't realize how big of a range that was and how the various ages differed.  Yet I'm also amazed how well everyone got along.  We had four fun filled days with fourteen participants hitting all ages and even sneaking in some little sisters around 10 and 11. Our topics included leadership, decision making skills, goal setting, effective communication, healthy relationships, the cycle of violence, at home beauty recipes, self-esteem, reproductive health and preventing teen pregnancy along with yoga and other activities to burn off some energy.  I completely forgot how much energy teenagers have!  I would consider myself a high energy "go-go-go" kind of person, but I was exhausted each day.  Thursday and Friday we just had sessions in the afternoon starting at 1 pm so the gals didn't miss school.  Saturday we started at 9 am and after a full day we hit the beach after dinner for a bonfire where the girls shared their favorite part of the camp and what they were taking away from the experience.  At some points during the camp I wondered how much the girls were really getting out of it as I'm used to teaching an older crowd with a longer attention span.  I invited my site mate Lindsay, a health volunteer to come out and I noticed during the preventing teen pregnancy talk some of the youngsters would disappear out of embaressment for a bit, but eventually find their way back out of pure curiousity.  Around the bonfire as they roasted their marsh mellows for smores I got the real scoop on what was going through their heads.  I was really touched to hear that everyone had a different part of the camp that deeply effected them.  Jillian and I even had girls approach us individually to talk about their personal experiences.  I was also pumped to hear that all of them really enjoyed the yoga! One of the more touching moments was when we all sat in a circle and talked about how the machista culture has effected our lives as women.  This machismo mentality tends to foster the mistreatment of women as they are viewed as inferior to men.  We talked about how women need to unite and are more powerful in numbers.  They recognized each other as someone in their community to rely on and trust, they are now more of a team than ever.

I should have guessed that having the girls spend the night would turn in to an all night sleep over party.  We hauled mattresses up to the open air yoga studio to create one huge bed where the girls continued to put on fashion shows and scream throughout the night every time thunder or lightning hit.  It took me back to my slumber parties as a youth and remembering how I never wanted day break to come so the fun wouldn't end. Fortunately we had a banana chocolate pancake breakfast planned bright and early at 6 am.  Over the coarse of the camp the girls had envelopes posted on the yoga studio walls that they had decorated where others could put "kind words".  This self-esteem activity was really neat as everyone got to read all the nice things that others said about them over breakfast.  The first pic below was taken after breakfast at about 7 am, some older girls had already left to head to Sunday classes in the city so you can see how young Nicaraguan teenagers look compared to Americans.  They are generally really petite and skinny until the rice, beans, and fried foods catch up to them.  Don't they look so young?  It really blew me away the first day of camp when I had this vision of what teenagers would look like!

Anyways all of this would not have been possible if it wasn't for the lovely people Jamie, Ben and Earl who started Coco Loco and Waves of Hope two years ago.  Their dedication to improving the community and providing opportunities to local Nicaraguans is amazing!  These three canadians have put a new spin on community development.  They employ all local Nicas at Coco Loco and hand out numerous scholarships for students in the area who are helping to give back to the community.  The Waves of Hope volunteers help out in the schools and give english class.  Waves of Hope is in the process of building a high school as they just finished their primary school a few months ago.  But what's more is the locals are all friends and we are all on the same level.  I surf with the chef of the kitchen, Caludio, in the morning and we sit down for drinks after dinner together.  A local surfer Elton who is extremely talented also comes over to paint a wall at Coco Loco and we all watch surfing videos together over dinner.  I guess I'm trying to say that this place has it right, local Nicaraguans and North Americans working right along side each other to make a difference in the community sustainably.  I consider this place my second home outside Chinandega, but really it's where my heart is.  Pro surfer and friend Holly Beck also has paired up her women's surf retreat with Coco Loco to give back to the community.  Watch a video on Jamie and how Coco Loco and Waves of Hope operate on Holly's website.  Also you can read more about Waves of Hope at their website where I recently posted a blog about my women's jewelry business that I'm advising.
 

7 am after breakfast- No one wanted to say goodbye!

Decision Making Activity where the girls had to put themselves in tough situations and present their reasoning and thought process to come to their decision

At home beauty!  I'm about to apply and avocado and honey face mask!

Team building excersize!  The girls had to fit all team members through a different part of the web to get to the other side.  Planning a strategy a head of time was key!

Jillian is with the girls in a big not and they are trying to make their way in to a circle with out letting go of their hands.

Palo de Mayo

The last weekend in May I traveled across Nicaragua to the Atlantic Coast to celebrate Palo de Mayo in the city of Bluefields.  I know what you’re thinking, Bluefields?  That’s not Spanish?  Precisely.  I bet you didn't know that Nicaragua has the largest population of African descent across Central America.   The Atlantic coast is heavily influenced by the English who developed the Eastern side of the country when the Puritans first founded colonies along Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast in the 17th century.  They also brought with them an enslaved populations of Africans to work on their plantations.  Enslaved Africans form Jamaica also later sought freedom in and around Bluefields after the British emancipation in 1834.  This area became a destination for free blacks from the British controlled Caribbean.  There fore the people of Bluefields speak english and creole, but a special kind of creole that has developed over the years and is spoken no where else.  Common phrases like “alright, alright, alright”(popular greeting), “ya done reached”(you have arrived), “lick-a-bit”(referring to a small amount), and many more phrases fill the streets as I walk past southern plantation looking houses and picked fences.

A large group of volunteers united and organized events over the long weekend such as a happy hour, parade watching party and a trip to the keys off of Pearl Lagoon.  Saturday was our big day of cultural events.  We kicked it off by visiting the central park where vendors, which were thick homely black women, served home cooked meals that they had been slaving over all morning.  The key ingredient in the Atlantic coast diet is coconut.  Everything from bread to soup here is riddled with coconut.  I had a plate of gallo pinto cooked in coconut milk with lobster in creole sauce and yucca cooked in coconut broth.  A stage was set up in the park where traditional Atlantic coast dances were being performed.  The costumes  are made of brightly colored fabrics and typical leave womens’ midriffs exposed.  These dances are much more provocative than what you find on the pacific side.  There is an overwhelming amount of booty shaking and grinding performed by all ages.  Later that afternoon the party really got started with the Palo de Mayo parade.  This holiday is focused around fertility and there fore the fertility dance is performed by several different groups as they make their way through the street of Bluefields.  This consists of several women surrounding a fertility tree, or in this case a large branch, and wrapping strips of fabrics around its branches while making some freakish grinding moves as well.  Over all it’s a great show and we couldn’t help but join the crowd and party through the streets.  At one point in the parade there were young men spraying spray-paint in to the air and lighting it on fire, awesome for the environment I know, and one of them happened to have a University of Arizona shirt on!  You know what I’m talking about, the gigantic blue and white “A” on a red T-shirt.  I totally flipped out, chased him down, and took a photo with him.

Lobster and coconut gallo pinto

Go Wildcats!

Hanging in the park

After the parade we found ourselves back in the park, but this time ten times as packed and with cold beers in our hands.  After a dinner of more typical east coast food, we made our way to the most popular and shady reggae club called Four Brothers.  This was my first experience with dance hall reggae and it was a blast!  Everyone was grooving and chillen to some serious beats, but the trippy thing was the lights were so low the corners of the club were left black and all you could see was the bar lit up.

The next day we rose early and painfully to take a small boat up the coast about an hour to Pearl Lagoon.  If you recall from my previous posts, I visited this place a year ago when I visited another volunteer during training and absolutely fell in love.  The people in Pearl Lagoon are some of the most friendly and warm folk I’ve ever encountered.  Animals run the white sand streets freely and English has basically vanished leaving only a very thick creole in its place.  Unfortunately we did not loiter long in Pearl Lagoon as our main goal was to reach the keys about an hour off its coast.  Twelve of us including our guide Jimmy took off to sea in a rather small panga.  After fighting the waves to push our way out of the lagoon we finally made it to the crystal clear carribean waters.  We parked our boat on a tiny island with nothing on it but us.  There we cooked a famous Atlantic coast soup called rundown.  The “run-down” comes from the act of the fish, shrimp and other seafood that is boiled on top of the stew and the flavor runs down in to the yucca, plantain and root veggies that are drowning in a coconut broth.  The flavor is absolutely amazing and for a seafood lover like me, heaven.  After bathing in the clear water, walking three times around the island and hunting for what coconuts existed on such a tiny piece of land, we headed back to Pearl Lagoon.  This was just a taste of what is took come when my mom visits in July and we head to Little Corn Island!  Can’t wait!  That night we took advantage of our last meal of coconut shrimp and listened to a fellow volunteer play some reggae on his guitar.  I actually fell in love with his music and bought the CD from his band back home called Reviva, check out their song Illegal!

The key

Alicia and I on the boat

The trip was quite long, totaling 14 hours of travel by bus and boat, thankfully I broke it up over a few days getting there, but it was a rough one full day of travel back home.  In the end it was all very worth it! One Love!

One Year Anniversary

I can't believe that it was one year ago today that I packed my bags to leave for Nicaragua.  I had so many judgments and preconceived notions at that time.  If only I had known then what I know now, but then again isn't that part of the lesson we are learning?  Time has flown by so fast that I have barely had the time to notice all that has changed in my life.  The best part is that I would never have been able to convince myself, back when everything was starting, that I would feel this amazing after one year of service.  Training was a total wreck, but my nine months of service in Chinandega has been extremely rewarding.

I never would have guessed that my relationship with Pro Mujer would go so well, that yoga would be such a success, that I would love teaching high schoolers or get to surf my own surfboard on a regular basis.  A year ago, I wouldn't have been able to identify that working with a women's jewelry cooperative would be one of my favorite and most personal business advising ventures.

I would have been able to tell you that I'd eventually get sick of the food, that the lack of being able to communicate in spanish would be frustrating, and I would be lonely at times.  But these things all seem so minor in the whole picture of my service.  I would have been able to tell you that I would change, but never would I have been able to tell you to this extent.  It's truly amazing watching the impact this experience has had on myself as well as the people I work with, both American and Nicaraguan.  I would have guessed a year ago that my fellow Biz 56 volunteers would play a huge role in my social life here, but never that we would all be so close and act as each other's family.  I had my heart set on meeting a loving host family, but during training I never would have dreamed the current family I live with would exist.  I realized tonight after teaching my host mom and sister a yoga class, just how close we've become through birthdays, family coming and going, Thais' birth and now being able to connect with yoga.  I year ago I would have told you that I expected to be challenged, but in retrospect I really had no idea to what extent or form.

A year ago I was worried that I would loose friends or that we would drift apart, but turns out that communication has been flawless and some have already come to visit or at least plan to.  I was worried that rice, beans and tortillas would make me blow up twice my size, but in fact I feel amazing and was able to finish a half marathon in February.  I was worried about being lonely, but in turn I have become even more comfortable in my own skin while making some amazing friendships.

This past week was spent in the mountainous of Matagalpa at a Biz 56 wide training set in the mountains followed by a one year celebration in the city with good food and great company.  Here I had time to reflect on how the last year of service has gone and really connect with my counterparts.  I also spent quality time with my entire Biz 56 team reminiscing about the past year we have struggled, partied, laughed and cried through together.  A good friend of mine, Michaela, reminded us all of just how precious the time we have left here really is.  She had recently lost someone very close to her, someone who had served as a life mentor.  A technique that this woman used to savor life was to maintain a jar of marbles that represented the days she had left with her seniors at Michaela's university who were about to graduate.  Each day that passed, one more closer to graduation, she would remove a marble from the jar.  Michaela gifted each and every one of us a jar of marbles representing the weeks we have left here in Nicaragua to make an impact.  Inside the lid of the marble she wrote a personalized message to each and every one of us.  My note read," I admire your strength in character and personality, and your confidence in knowing what you want and tirelessly(yet seemingly effortlessly) going after it.  I feel like you squeeze every drop out of the day that life has to offer, and you live and love with a bright energy that resonates around you."  After wiping away a few tears I realized that the way I have tried to live my life here in Nica has shown through to another.  There are days here were I stress about the impact that I'm actually making, but then I realize how that stress has driven me to take on more in a positive way.  I realize that I have taken advantage of the resources around me and plan to continue over the next year and some to maintain this energy and momentum.  I'm not expecting it to be easy, but I am expecting it to be everything that I'm not expecting :)

BIZ NASTY 56 with our jars of marbles: Michaela is to my right

Corinto Seafood Festival

The month of April has flashed before my eyes, maybe because I spent a good chunk of it traveling for Semana Santa.  Work has also had me very busy along with the addition of several yoga classes to my schedule.  Yoga has finally taken off in Chinandega for me and it's almost overwhelming.  I stared the process by asking of I could teach a free class at an all women's gym when I first arrived in August, but with no success.  I returned several times over the last month or so asking for just 30 minutes here and there to at least give a demo and then let the members of the gym chose for themselves if they want a yoga class offered or not.  Well turns out the women really enjoyed my class despite my gringa spanish, but the gym wouldn't offer me an evening time slots because the aerobics classes are all too popular.  We are talking super ghetto wanna be aerobics on three pieces of wood haphazardly nailed together and used as a "step".  And this wins over my yoga class? humbling ha ha.  I posted signs in the gym with my phone number and asked women to organize a group of their friends, find a local, and I will come teach.  Finally it all worked out and I have an organized group Monday and Wednesday nights.  While all this was going on apparently the gym decided they wanted me to teach Monday mornings so now I have 3 scheduled classes a week.  Plus my host sister and mom are all in to yoga now so I'm teaching a class at my house for them and our mutual friends.  Is there such thing as to much yoga?  I don't think so!

I have started a series of trainings at my Microfinance NGO Pro Mujer.  Last week was my first 2 hour training session to 20 women small business owners from different parts of Chinandega.  We covered leadership, goal setting, the planning cycle and FODA Analysis.  I couldn't believe how well the women were engaged and participating through out the two hours.  Here two hours is quite a long time to keep a group focused, but these ladies were really in to it.  I'm sure they were getting a kick out of my less than par spanish.  At the end of the session they all wanted copies of the slides, and with myself being a poor volunteer, they all chipped in and paid for their own copies, which aren't exactly cheap.  Guess they liked the materials!  It's really great to have Pro Mujer behind me financially to reimburse these women for traveling in from the campo, providing the equipment and air conditioned space.

Artesenia del Mar, my women's group that makes jewelry, is really taking off!  We just did a photo shoot this weekend on the beach of all of her new styles to create a catalog.  I felt like I was creating an Anthropologie Spring Edition catalog by wrapping bracelets around drift wood and using natural props to display the jewelry.  Pictures to come!  Norma, the lady who started it all is really putting everything she has in to it and coming up with awesome designs all on her own.

Amongst all this I found time to visit my BFF here in Nica in the mountainous city of Boaco.  It's the San Fran of Nica minus the Bart and trolleys, so let's just say my gluts got a work out.  Amongst working on her community garden, hiking and morning yoga, we mainly found ourselves day drinking and catching up over the last 3 months that just flew by.  By the way, an excellent rum drink to cool you down is pineapple, cucumber, cilantro, orange, and grapefruit juice, rum to taste.

This past weekend was the Corinto Seafood Festival.  Corinto is the port town about 15 minutes away from Chinandega.  It's a smaller quaint city where the majority of the cargo arrives to Nicaragua on the Pacific side.  They block of the central park and vendors cell every type of Nicaraguan seafood you can imagine.  There was ceviche, fried fish, pupusas with fish, seafood soup, shrimp, lobster, muscles and the list goes on.  Of course a lot of it was fried like Nica food always is, but oh so good.  There were also beer tents set up so you could roam around drinking and eating as you redeemed your tickets for whatever goodies your heart desired.  That morning a good friend from training, Irma, came up from Masaya to perform with her dance group at the festival.  It was great to catch up with her over breakfast and then hang to watch her perform the traditional Nicaraguan folklore dances as well as the Palo de Mayo from the Atlantic coast.  After achieving a full stomach we(20 plus volunteers) headed to the beach to relax and digest before heading back for round two.  Around nightfall a live band started playing music in the central park which only led to one thing.....dancing.....possibly on stage........

Gotta love the costume

She's in the middle

Smile for the camera Irma!

Semana Santa with Char & Derek

Little did Char and Derek know when they booked their flights to visit me here in Nica that they were coming over the biggest party week in Central America.  Although we avoided the chaos that Semana Santa brings we managed to have our own party on the Island of Ometepe!  We started our journey in San Juan del Sur with some surfing, beachside beers and fish tacos.  Char and Derek got a load of the popular surfing beach Maderas as they rocked their longboards.  At night we chilled on Buena Vista Surf Club's infinity deck watching the sunset and listening to howler monkeys.  This is of coarse before Char and Derek did their nightly bug hunt to kill of any living creatures in their cabin.  I was informed that there were several scorpion encounters in their bed the few nights prior to my arrival!  Welcome to Nica!

After a few chill nights on Maderas beach we made our way to the Island of Ometepe which sits on Central America's largest fresh water lake named Cocibolca or "Lake Nicaragua".  I should redefine "island" because we are actually talking about two volcanoes, one dormant and one active, that are adjoined as one large land mass.  We parked ourselves about half way up the Maderas dormant volcanoe at the eco-resort Totoco to stare across the way at the very active La Concepcion volcanoe.  While we were at it we thought we might as well take a dip in their infinity pool.

Noelle is lucky enough to call the island home so she joined in!

Our island adventures began with a narly bike ride, wait I should clarify, more like mountain biking an hour and a half to the entrance of another 2 hour hike to San Ramon waterfall.  I think we were all ready to pass out by the time we reached the cool waters, but it was well worth the hike!

My buddy Andrew who also lives on the island was kind enough to be our guide

That night we had some of the best mojitos I think I've ever had, made with sugar cane straight from the island.  We dined like kings at a foreign owned restaurant named Campestre that has amazing meals for around $5, and returned just about every night after that to do it all over again!  As if i hadn't completely tuckered Char and Derek out, the next day we decided to kayak the Istiam river, taking us on a three hour journey over the lake and between the volcanoes.  Char and I ended that day with her treating us to messages on their cabana porch as the sunset, what an awesome friend no?

The next day we played it more low key and checked out the natural spring Ojo de Agua to bath in its cool waters and drink coconut water.  The day winded down with yet another Toña litro session at Campestre with another volunteer friend Ricardo.

Sadly the next day Char and Derek left the island to head up north to the city of Leon to board down volcano Cerro Negro before heading back to the airport in Managua.  It was reported to be an awesome experience and I'm still waiting to see the Go Pro video they took!  It was so amazing having them visit and get to see the country I live in.  I think they really enjoyed themselves, I know I did!

My island adventures continued with Noelle inviting Ricardo and I along with her Nicaraguan friend Roberto to go fishing Nica style.  I'm talking wooden stick with fish line attached.  Our bait was larva that we hand picked from the bottom of rocks from the lake's shore.  That in itself was an experience as the larva had pinchers and they actually drew blood!  While Roberto and the owner of the boat reeled in fish after fish, us volunteers ended up empty handed.  After several hours we parked ourselves on a deserted beach off the lake to build a fire and cook up the fish they caught while the sun set.

Island fish, apparently the pinker the better

After picking every piece of meat off the bones of these fish stuffed with peppers, onions and garlic, we made our way back home while the sun setting over volcano La Concepcion.

The next day was dedicated to getting our horseback riding fix as Ricardo and I share the love of riding We reminisced about riding in our childhood as we galloped along the lake shores amongst herds of horses running free.  Later that day we were joined by my two good guy friends MacClaine and Ryan.  As soon as they hit the island we found ourselves on the beaches of the lake with our own litros of Tona.

The next day we took on the challenge of hiking up Volcano Maderas.  My friend Andrew, our fearless leader, took us on a record breaking straight up hike of 2:15 while it takes most groups 4 hours.  I was drenched with sweat and gasping for air as we made our way through the thick cloud layer.  The crater at the top has turned itself in to a lake since the volcano's dormancy.  It made for a beautiful view.  It wasn't until the way down that the mud turned in to a problem of slipping and sliding down the mountain.  I've never ended an adventure so dirty.

The crater lake and lingering clouds

view from about half way up the volcano

the boys lookin for the monkeys

The next few days we camped for practically free along the Lake's shores switching it up each night.  I experienced one of the most beautiful sunsets from a dock set away from the beach in the middle of the lake.

The last few nights of my Semana Santa were spent in San Juan del Sur where we partook in some great DJ parties on the beach and more amazing food.  I sealed up the trip with a bang when I bought my first real legit surfboard.  The one I had was really beat, but this brand new board made its way up from a shaper in Peru. I bought her off a canadian named Jacoah who just couldn't afford to get his custom board back to Canada with him.  It's not exactly the color scheme I would have choose, but beautiful none the less.

Calle 13 Concert

Oh how I have missed my live music down here!  I'm not sure if you've heard of Calle 13, I hadn't until I came down to Nica, but they are a Puerto Rican band that has cleaned up over the past several years at the Latin American Music awards.  Last November they released Entre los Que Quieran, which highlights the bands controversial style of addressing Latin American cultural and issues.  They are known for their satirical lyrics which are usually accompanied by unconventional instruments.  I was lucky enough that they included Managua in their concert tour!  Last Thursday night several volunteers and I gathered in the capitol to attend the concert which was held in Managua's nicest mall's parking lot. They put on an amazing show and drew a eclectic crowd of foreigners and Nicaraguans alike.  My fellow volunteer buddy Julian was born and raised in Puerto Rico and you can see him representing with his homemade flag below.  It was a true display of latino culture.  One of their bigger hits is Latinoamerica which has an amazing music video to accompany it and the lyrics are great as well.  I recommend viewing even if you can't understand the lyrics, but here is the translation in to English.

Julian representing with his Puerto Rican flag.  He even made it on their official Facebook page here.

I was also fortunate enough the weekend before last to catch some acoustic live music by Luis Enrique in Esteli with some friends.  His music is also full of Nicarguan history as he touches on the contra war and how to assemble an AK 47 which was broadcast to Nicaraguan troops from Honduras during the war to educate the soldiers.  It was my buddy Nelson's b-day so at one point we actually got him to do a shout out and dedicate a song to the volunteers of Chinandega.  Live music is something that has always been such a huge part of my life and I have really been missing it.  I think I got a good fix for the time being, but there is always room for more!  If you think of it, send some new music my way if there is anything new out that you know I'd like.  I hate being behind on the music scene down here.