Saturday, July 4, 2009
Adios Nicaragua
Yesterday we were on the micro-bus to Managua by 4:00 am. Kurt and Gianni jumped ship in Miami and took a rental car to Melbourne Beach, Florida. Elizabeth, Emma, Jasmine and Porter had a long layover before their flight back to Boston. Needless to say, we all arrived home tired. What should the next adventure be?
Volcano Mambacho
Thursday was our final day in Granada. During Spanish classes some of us were able to take a tour of the old hospital. It was a very large, beautiful colonial building (spanning several blocks), but now it is crumbling to the ground after only having been closed in the 1990's.
After classes we went on our final excursion to the Volcano Mambacho. This trip was quite different than our other volcano trip. Mambacho is not really active and is covered in rain forest. We climbed closed to the summit at 3,500 feet in an old Mercedes army transport vehicle. We hiked for an hour around one of the crater rims. While the views were non-existent due to the clouds, the forest, plants and flowers were very impressive. On the way down we stopped for a canopy tour. Porter and Gianni flew through 2 kilometers of canopy on 17 zip lines. The two of them had an incredible time! The rest of the group enjoyed free coffee grown on the volcano and conversation.
Back at Casa Xalteva, we said our goodbyes. Emma and Jasmine took dance lessons one more time. We all went home to say goodbye to our families. Photos of the day start here.
After classes we went on our final excursion to the Volcano Mambacho. This trip was quite different than our other volcano trip. Mambacho is not really active and is covered in rain forest. We climbed closed to the summit at 3,500 feet in an old Mercedes army transport vehicle. We hiked for an hour around one of the crater rims. While the views were non-existent due to the clouds, the forest, plants and flowers were very impressive. On the way down we stopped for a canopy tour. Porter and Gianni flew through 2 kilometers of canopy on 17 zip lines. The two of them had an incredible time! The rest of the group enjoyed free coffee grown on the volcano and conversation.
Back at Casa Xalteva, we said our goodbyes. Emma and Jasmine took dance lessons one more time. We all went home to say goodbye to our families. Photos of the day start here.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
San Juan del Oriente and Catarina
Yesterday afternoon, we went on an excursion to an artisan town that specializes in pottery. We saw a demonstration and then tried to make our own. It was harder than it looked. Afterwards, we shopped for gifts and then went to another town, Catarina, which overlooks the crater lake Laguna de Apoyo. The views were spectacular. We could see Lake Nicaragua, Granada and the volcano that we are going to climb today, Mambacho. Photos start here.
Ledyard Soccer Club Donation
After Spanish lessons yesterday we donated soccer equipment to the new Casa Xalteva soccer team. We donated jerseys, wristbands, balls and a pump. The kids were really excited and appreciative. They immediately began playing. It is amazing what fun you can have with just a ball! Photos start here.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Los Angeles, Again
Our first trip to visit Emma's family in Los Angeles was too short due to the long bus ride, so yesterday we decided to go again. We split up into two groups. Elizabeth, Gianni and Jasmine stayed in Granada. They experienced the Cultural Train, studied Spanish and spent time with their respective host families. Emma, Porter and Kurt took a mini-bus back out to Los Angeles for the day.
We left at 8:00 am and went to the supermarket to pick up food for the family. The ride out proved quite interesting due to recent rains. We had to cross many deep puddles, some well above the top of our tires. Some of the houses along the way were very flooded. We arrived by 10:00 am and enjoyed the day with family and friends. Emma's mom cooked us her favorite lunch. We shared stories and played games. We left just after 5:00 pm and went to visit another community, Malacatoya. We toured the high school that was painted last summer by Emma, other AMIGOS volunteers and local youth. We set out for the long ride home in the dark, arriving back in Granada at 7:30 pm. With little energy for dancing, we went off to eat and sleep. Photos start here.
We left at 8:00 am and went to the supermarket to pick up food for the family. The ride out proved quite interesting due to recent rains. We had to cross many deep puddles, some well above the top of our tires. Some of the houses along the way were very flooded. We arrived by 10:00 am and enjoyed the day with family and friends. Emma's mom cooked us her favorite lunch. We shared stories and played games. We left just after 5:00 pm and went to visit another community, Malacatoya. We toured the high school that was painted last summer by Emma, other AMIGOS volunteers and local youth. We set out for the long ride home in the dark, arriving back in Granada at 7:30 pm. With little energy for dancing, we went off to eat and sleep. Photos start here.
The Cultural Train
We spent Monday morning in Spanish classes and attended dance lessons at night. In the afternoon, we split up for a while with Emma and Porter studying and waiting for a visit from Emma’s host mom at Casa Xalteva, Elizebeth and Jasmine walking to the bus station to look for Emma’s host mother, and Kurt and Gianni touring the Cultural Train in a nearby park.
The Cultural Train is a mobile exhibition funded by the United Nations and organized by the University of Central America in Managua. It articulates the history of an award winning literacy campaign, which was implemented in 1980. Through the efforts of 95,000 volunteers (mostly youth), Nicaragua's literacy rate went from 50% to 90% in less than a year. The exhibition ends with a brainstorm session where participants make pledges to implement new efforts to improve Nicaragua. The exhibit was both profoundly impressive (with its demonstration of what people can do when they join together) and inspirational.
The Cultural Train is a mobile exhibition funded by the United Nations and organized by the University of Central America in Managua. It articulates the history of an award winning literacy campaign, which was implemented in 1980. Through the efforts of 95,000 volunteers (mostly youth), Nicaragua's literacy rate went from 50% to 90% in less than a year. The exhibition ends with a brainstorm session where participants make pledges to implement new efforts to improve Nicaragua. The exhibit was both profoundly impressive (with its demonstration of what people can do when they join together) and inspirational.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday Soccer
Yesterday was another rest day as we slept in. We met mid-day to watch the final game of the Confederations Cup in South Africa (the "pre-World Cup"). The United States played the mighty Brazil for the championship after beating Spain. The U.S. played well in the first half, reaching a 2-0 lead. The second half was another story, with Brazil dominating and wining the game. Rosaly was very happy! Kurt and Gianni went home to relax and play. The rest of the gang caught up with friends and family at an Internet cafe and then visited the Euro Cafe as usual for food, drink and conversation. With it being Rosaly's last night with us, we attempted to go out after dinner. The rains came hard again, the power went out and we waited. When the weather finally settled we went down to La Calzada for food. We said our goodbyes to Rosaly in the rain and she left for Managua at 4:00 am this morning. ¡Adios Rosaly! Que te vaya bien.
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