High, Low, Far and Wide~ A Hidden Outdoor Wonderland

One of the reasons I initially chose to study abroad in Nicaragua was the plethora of outdoor activities available and what seemed to me a wilderness much less open and accessible to the average traveler. We worked hard to get to many of the beautiful sights that Nicaragua provided, but each time we were rewarded with pristine forests, beautiful landscapes and a deep sense of accomplishment. Here's a snapshot of several places we visited, hiked, and swam along. The pictures never do it justice, but hopefully there are a few that will make you want to visit ASAP~

Las Isletas de Granada-

During the weekend that my roommate's family came to visit, we toured a set of islands in Lake Nicaragua that were created during one of the explosions of the nearby Volcan Mombacho. The volcano towers over the city, so it's easy to see how long ago, some blasts of lava found their way into the lake and solidified into a chain of islands with a tropical and wild feel. Many of the islands are inhabited and more than a few now have beautiful vacation homes of both wealthy locals and international investors. 

To get to the islands, we hired a guide on shore and then rode a panga through the charming channels and around the unique homes. "Guide" is always a loose term, but we had a great time with our island resident and his boat captain friend, who seemed to know enough to answer a few of our questions and was more than willing to share secrets and fun facts once we convinced him we really could understand Spanish. The islands house a community of their own including a school and a few hostels, but nearly all supplies have to be brought over from Granada, including water. 

Volcan Mombacho- Maker of Islands

Monkey Island

Vacation Home

Local Home

Cemetery Island 

Volcan Mombacho-

Our Half Way Stop

View from the Top

After spending an afternoon under the shadow of the volcano, we woke up early the next morning to conquer the beast of a hike. To be fair, while I was aware that most people opted to take a truck to the top and just hike around the craters, I was unaware that the reasoning behind it was the deathly incline and lack of trails except for the long, paved road used by said trucks. Luckily, I was with friends that were willing to follow my crazy lead, and after many hours of fighting our way to the top, we felt incredibly accomplished and more than a little dumb. But the view was amazing and we were more in tune with our jungle warrior spirits than ever. We also managed to hitch a ride down part of the way down with the rest of our crew (my roommate and family) who were smart enough to book a tour. 
  

Chocoyero-El Brujo-

Through our Spanish class, we had the opportunity to visit a few sites outside of Managua, including a beautiful nature preserve with ancient trees, a life-giving waterfall and some unique creatures. Our guide provided a long introduction to all of the local wildlife before leading us through several of the trails. 

El Chocoyero Tree

The site was named after a local legend about a man who was given permission to bathe in the waterfall by a wizard, under the condition that he not tell anyone else the secret location. However, on his was out, Chocoyero spilled the beans and is now forever immortalized (in the nude) as a tree alongside one of the trails. 
Along the way, we saw giant guayabon and ceiba trees, supposedly hundreds of years old. The cliff next to the waterfall is filled with hundreds of nests, home to the 'chocoyeros' (parakeets) that dive in and out around the waterfall all day. In the welcome center, one of the display boards was titled "Donde el bosque se transforma en Catedral." As an outdoor adventurer, this concept is a key reason why I so enjoy wandering through the woods and hiking in the wilderness. This panel compared the forest to a cathedral, which not only has intense symbolic meaning in the Central American region, but also related to the part of my that finds it easier to worship God when surrounded by His creation than within the walls of a church. 


   

Cañon de Somoto-

This canyon is located in northern Nicaragua outside of the small town of Somoto. This region of Nicaragua is very poor and we were surprised by the large number of signs we saw for NGO's and aid projects around the area. We passed through  on our journey north to El Salvador, and while the $13 tour seemed a little pricey, it was well worth the cool dip and gorgeous tunnels carved into the cliffs. Our guide was a 17-yr-old local, Josue, who led his first group when he was just six years old. We climbed, floated and jumped our way through the canyon, then ended with a beautiful hike through the Nicaraguan countryside. 

                                                                                                   

Selva Negra-

Selva Negra is a beautiful cloud forest located on a the land of a German family that has lived in the region for generations. Our journey there took us back to Matagalpa, the central coffee region of Nicaragua, and to our first hot shower in well... all of Nicaragua. Once we arrived at the actual nature preserve, we wandered the grounds of the farm and ecolodge area, and then started on our trek through the cloud forest. One of my favorite parts was a beautiful church tucked into the base of the mountain that was open air and shrouded in green. The funky plants and trees kept us entertained as we wandered up and down the hills of the reserve, up the Atajo trail and down El Fuente de Juventud (The Fountain of Youth.) Four hours later, we were overjoyed to be greeted with delicious treats and fresh coffee back at the lodge. 

My Adventurous Companions

The Model of the German Style A-Frame Lodge

A Little Evaluation...

The truth is, I had a such an amazing last month while studying abroad that I hardly had time to stop and sort through all the new sights, experiences and adventures, let alone to get them written down to be shared and experienced by others. I am "home" in Laramie, WY and have had a relaxing, although difficult adjustment period in the last few weeks. In light of these things, I still plan to write a few posts about the natural wonders of Nicaragua and my time in El Salvador and Costa Rica. However, as I was filling out my ISEP evaluation form, I realized that many of the questions provided a good overview of my experience abroad and may be of interest or at least provide a glimpse into some highlights of my semester. So while copy and paste may be cheating in blog world, here are some fun facts about my time abroad.

What did you think about your housing and the living experience?
I LOVED my homestay experience and would always recommend this style of living accommodation as a way to engaged with the host culture and experience an environment apart from school, play and travel. I did not feel that our food and transportation stipend was sufficient, but we learned to work around that anyway. I felt very safe and comfortable as my roommate and I were placed in an upper-class community, but feel that I may have experience more of the culture and Nicaraguan lifestyle had we been living in a more centralized neighborhood or with a middle class family.

Tell us about your experience interning/working abroad:
What skills are you learning/using that you find most valuable? 
Is there a particular experience you want to share?
I did not intern, but I did volunteer at a primary school teaching English once a week. It was a very educational experience and I feel I was exposed to many of the educational and societal barriers that keep kids from attaining higher levels of education as well as better lifestyles in Nicaragua. I learned how to make lesson plans that are culturally appropriate (ex. how to teach careers in a country with high unemployment) and in my volunteering with non-profits, I learned a lot about the on-ground barriers to providing for people needs including unexpected natural disasters, societal views on gender and authority, cultural parenting norms and political barriers for both organizations and residents receiving aid.

Tell us your FAVORITE:
1. Aspect of the university/campus
2. Place to visit or thing to do
3. Characteristic about the culture
1. I loved the small classes and our host coordinators and support staff. I felt very comfortable coming to them with any question or concern and also appreciated their efforts to include us in campus activities and events.
2. Isla de Ometepe- beautiful tropical volcanic island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. What more can I say?
3. I love that Nicaraguan culture accepts things as they come and doesn't rush through the fun and exciting things in search of what the future holds. While waiting for EVERYTHING can be trying, eventually it was nice to settle into the "tranquilo" culture and understand that many things are out of your control, especially with the lack of infrastructure and easy communication (let alone street addresses). I loved being able to wake up in the morning and decide to go the the beach, a volcano or a colonial city and know that people would be willing to help me get there. Some of the most lively conversations I had were with taxi drivers or people on the bus, and they were always will to share their insights on the country and culture or give suggestions of where to visit and what to do.

Go CUSE! A shot of our Volleyball Tournament 

What was the most valuable thing you learned or experienced while studying abroad?
I'm not sure this is a fair question.... A few valuable things I learned were:
1.  When you are anxious, scared, frustrated or worried, breath and wait five minutes. Chances are you'll learn something that will give clarity to the situation or show you what to do next. 
2. While being accepting of another culture is important and key to any study abroad experience, there are some things that you can decide are right or wrong and that can motivate you to make a positive change in your community and the world. 
3. Learning a language is HARD. I mean really, really hard. I have so much more understanding for non-native speakers in my own culture and applaud anyone who chooses to live or work somewhere where they must use their second language more than their first. I feel much more able to relate to non-native speakers and more willing take the time to listen and engage with them whenever the opportunity allows. 
4. It's a big world out there. Don't assume you can understand it all in a semester, but don't forget how much you can learn in a short amount of time when you keep your ears and eyes open. 

Tell us what you thought about the academics at your host institution:
1. How were they similar or different? 2. Did one professor stand out? 3. Did you have a favorite course?
1. The standard of education in Nicaragua is significantly lower than that of the United States. In light of that, the academic part of my experience was not particularly challenging, other than the fact that it was in a foreign language. I did appreciate the amount of writing and reading required because I was trying to enhance each aspects of my knowledge of the foreign language and felt challenged to read and write above my initial level of competency. I was also very surprised by the classroom environment at my host university which was much less formal than those I was used to. It was very acceptable to shout out questions in class, talk with your neighbor, answer a phone call or walk in and out of the room at one's leisure. I very much enjoyed a new perspective on history and international issues, as well as an outside opinion of my own country's policies and global impact.  

Post-Volcano Boarding

3. The teacher that stood out in my experience was my Intro to International Relations professor. She was very helpful and patient with me as I struggled through the new language, but also had a unique way of helping students understand the phases of international relations throughout history, engage in what effects those processes have on our society today, as well as asking for student input and opinion on societal, moral and global impacts of international relations.
4. My favorite course was one in which I was not actually registered, nor did I attend classes. I was fortunate to take part in most of the excursions of the Earth Science and Geology classes at my host university and therefore saw many of Nicaragua's natural treasure and learned about the ecosystem, wildlife and formation of the country from an ecological standpoint while never having to actually write a paper or take a test. 

If you were trying to encourage someone to study abroad at the location where you did, what would you say to convince them?
Nicaragua is the hidden beauty of  Central America. You can never be more than three hours from a beach, there is every sort of outdoor activity and landscape that you can imagine and people are friendly and helpful, even if they never stop staring or laughing at your Spanish. It's also cheap. If you want a place where you can go and see everything, without feeling limited by your bank account, this is the place. Going to school in the capital city of Managua also provided us access to every other part of the country AND to international buses that passed through on their way Costa Rica, Honduras or El Salvador. This is also a great place to learn Spanish because you are forced to use the language on a daily basis and have less access to English compared to other Central American countries (specifically, Costa Rica.) Nicaragua also gives a real-life portrayal of an underdeveloped country and the political, social and economic barriers to development and success in a globalized world. You will have many opportunities to challenge your own ideas of what is "normal" and open yourself to the benefits and hardships of cultures and value systems. 

So if anyone needs a tour guide for Nicaragua, sign me up! I feel incredibly blessed to have had such amazing experiences and meet so many different and wonderful people. I can't to see how many ways my time abroad affects my present and my future!

My Peruvian Romance~ A Boy, A Temple and A Llama

 As promised in my post from about Costa Rica, I must start this tale with the Travel Day from Hell that took me through four countries in 24 hours. The plan was to get up early Wednesday morning and catch the bus from Costa Rica all the way back to Managua with plenty of time to spare. However, upon our arrival at the "bus station" in Costa Rica (which was less of a station and more of a corner store) we were informed that while we already had tickets to Nicaragua, we did not in fact have a seat on the bus. After the man tried to explain something about reservations and jumping through a million other hoops, we ultimately had to buy new tickets and split up into two groups in order to get seats on the already-filled-to-capacity buses that were passing by. Three of us jumped on the first bus we could and headed across the border with hundreds of other Nicaraguans returning for the festivities of Semana Santa. The Nicaraguan border was shrouded in chaos. At least ten cross-country buses were trying to make there way through along with plenty of local chicken buses, microbuses and individual cars and travelers. We were thoroughly confused for most of our stop at the border, but after about an hour of lugging our bags back and forth between check-points and wherever we could find shade, our passports were stamped, handed back and we were on our way again. About twenty minutes across the border, my companions departed to spend the rest of their break in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, a great beach town full of great people and places, and beautiful sunshine and sand. I continued to Managua-about another four hours- by myself, but fortunately, the young guy next to me was more than happy to help me practice my Spanish. We talked about just about everything within in the limits of my vocabulary until we reached the city, including family, sports, nature and a few other things you can find in any Spanish textbook. I've yet to mention my extreme preoccupation with missing my flight to Peru, but it was quite a stressful bus ride not knowing whether the travel gods would continue to grant me with terrible luck or more delays... 

I did make it to the airport with just under an hour to spare and was lucky enough to share a taxi for less than $10. From there, travel was a blur from the airport in Nicaragua to El Salvador to Lima to Cusco but all in all it took 14 hours until I was reunited with the tall, dark and handsome young man I'd been missing for a few months. By then it was Thursday morning and I was still quite a few hours behind on sleep. So we headed to the house of Paul's host family and I slept a few hours before we headed out to explore the city. 
Cusco is an incredible mix of ancient Incan Ruins, Spanish cathedrals and people from all walks of life and all parts of the world. Just wandering through the city was more than enough of an activity for the day, so we went to the central plaza, some fun coffee shops, stopped by ruins and displays about Incan history and eventually headed up to the ridge above the city to enjoy the sunset on our walk back home. 

  
That night, we attended a Maundy Thursday service and I got to meet many of Paul's young adult friends from a service he had been attending on Saturday evenings throughout his time there. It was wonderful to be back with people in love with Christ and share smiles and coffee after the service. Peruvian Spanish is also incredibly more understandable than Nicaragua, so the service was very enjoyable and I didn't feel like as much of an idiot making friends and being introduced as I do on a regular basis in Managua. 
The next day we started making our way towards Machu Picchu. Our first leg was bus ride to Ollantaytambo. This set of ruins was built into the mountains in the Sacred Valley as a temple to the sun and also includes several incredibly engineered food storage buildings. Paul had already been here with his class a few weeks prior and was a marvelous tour guide. The Incan architecture is phenomenal, especially the mortar-less walls and buildings whose stones were carried from quarries found miles away and on the opposite side of the valley, meaning their final destinations were hundreds of feet uphill. 

Also a fun sight, were the floating steps that led up and down many of the walls, invisible from the front, but incredibly stable fun to take pictures on~ Our train for Aguas Calientes-the town at the base of Machu Picchu- left around noon, so we hiked back down to the bus station with enough time to grab some smoothies on our way. 

  

I absolutely can't explain how breathtaking it was to ride for three hours through the steep, lush, green Andean Mountains, all the way watching the Incan Trail snake back and forth out the window on the mountain side across from us. For those of you who are familiar with my affinity for hiking, it shouldn't be a surprise that I was dying to break out the boxcar and reenact every scene from the Sound of Music in Spanish. Once we arrived in Aguas Calientes, we strolled through the market and admired all of the crafts made with bright colors and alpaca fur. 
           

The plan was simply to stroll through town until we ran into a reasonably priced hostel. Paul had some insider information from a friend who said the town was basically divided between the touristy area and the local sector by the main river, so we stuck to the local side and found a wonderful deal with a couple Argentinians at Cusi Backpacker Hostel. Aguas Calientes-which translates to hot waters- is a beautiful town with a few things that made it one of my favorite stops during our trip.
1- Because the only way to reach the town is by train, there are no cars and all of the streets are full kids, bikes and a lot of men with wheelbarrows. The only motored vehicles we saw were the buses that run people up to Machu Picchu.
2- On the local side of city, everything is centered around a GIANT futbol field that obviously serves as more than just a place to kick the ball around. Every time we passed by a new group of people could be seen playing tag, break dancing, sharing the local gossip or of course, watching or playing any number of soccer games at any given time. After settling in at the hostel, we found a fun restaurant named "Maggy's" to grab a snack and then headed to the hot springs after a chat with the guide we would be meeting in the morning at Machu Picchu. 

Wandering through the town later that night, we were lucky enough to run into a Good Friday processional and decided to follow the crowd into the local Catholic Church for what turned out to be a wonderful service, full of tradition and with a very clear message that the sacrifice of Christ should be remembered and honored. After the service, we crossed the square and ate dinner on a the second floor of a restaurant with delicious local food. Quinoa is a staple grain in Peru and a current vegetarian buzz-food, so I was delighted to have some delicious dishes in Peru without having to scour the menu for vegetarian options.



Our next day was the peak of our trip in more ways than one. We woke up early to catch the bus to the entrance of Machu Picchu and meet our guide by 7:45. It was chaos for our first twenty minutes as everyone tried to find their guides who were each wielding a different colored flag and shouting out the names of people in their groups. We finally made it in the gate, up the mountain and to our orientation spot, where the guide explained the history and tradition of the Inca civilization. All of us were obviously disappointed since all that was visible of the city was a few building sticking out of a blanket of fog. However, as we approached the city, the fog began to lift in a truly magical way and slowly revealed the majestic temples, houses and mountains on this ancient empire. I will never be able to explain how truly glorious the rest of our day was, so I'll leave you with pictures that only tell half the story and just a simple play-by-play. The tour was two-hours long and completely in Spanish. Afterwards, we walked around to all of the places we hadn't seen on the tour and then up to the Portal of the Sun. Here are some of my favorite pictures but feel free to head to my Facebook album for better descriptions and a more fulfilling optical experience. 

   
We stopped back in Aguas Calientes for lunch and then got back on the train toward Cusco. The valley was just as breathtaking a second time, as was the night sky out our bus window as we descended into the city. I couldn't believe all of the things we'd done in less than two days, but this trip was already worth more then I could ever ask for. 


Sunday was Easter and started with family church where I was introduced to the entire extended-host-family and prayed for and hugged more times than I can count. That afternoon, we went to a potluck at the Meeting Place, a great little cafe run by a missionary family with the intention of engaging in spiritual conversations and  discussions with everyone who happens to wander through. This was a great night full of story sharing from fellow travelers in a fun, family environment that I'd been missing without even realizing it. Our night ended singing worship song on top of the apartment building under another glorious starry sky. It was a truly holy night. 
My flight left Monday afternoon, so we spent the morning visiting the Saqsaywaman ruins and saying hello to the Cristo Blanco that overlooks the city. We walked with the llamas, frolicked through the wildflowers, slid down natural rock slides and ducked in and out of ancient guard tunnels. Again, the pictures tell the story best. 
     
I'm so thankful to have had the incredible opportunity to visit this beautiful country and for getting to do so alongside someone I love. Thanks to Paul, his host-family and friends in Peru, and all of the people that helped convince me to go!

Costa Rica: Beaches, Buses and Bonfires

I know this is now more than a month over-due but I feel it would be a waste to not make an account of the our incredible Latin American Spring Break. Semana Santa begins the week before Easter and is celebrated with festivals, bacchanals and a desperate rush to the beach to try and escape the deadly April heat. Everyone with the means spends at least a day or two on the coast. Those without buy an inflatable pool for the front yard and squeeze grandma, the cat and all the cousins into the 4x4 square of red and yellow plastic. As ISEP students, we took the chance to go to Costa Rica since the ten days of no school provided enough time for  travel and exploring. The big celebrations don’t start ‘til the end of the week, so the plan was to spend the first half in Costa Rica and then meet up with friends back in Southern Nicaragua. I had planned a trip to Peru for the end of the week, so we parted ways at the border and I’ll continue my journey from there in another post.

Transportation was a journey in and of itself, but after taxis, buses, border crossings and a twenty-minute search for our hostel, we made it from Managua, Nicaragua to Quepos, Costa Rica. Our hostel was cheap, in more ways than one, but included delicious breakfast and was run by a welcoming owner, Carlos, who was full of local advise and even drove us around a bit in has big white van. The first wonderful thing about Ticos is the fact that their accent is much more understandable than that of the Nicas across the border. They also say "pura vida" at least once and hour and they're a bit more accustomed to foreigners. So while at times we felt more like stupid tourists, we also had a nice break from cat-calling and confused stares.

Costa Rica was fresh and green, which was a great break from the unrelenting heat of Managua. We headed out our first day in search of a waterfall, but instead ended up on a beautiful white sand beach. We spent the day lounging, swimming, building sand castles and meeting all of the college kids that also happened to be at the beach for Spring Break. Most memorable was a group from Massachusetts who invited us back to their house for drinks that night. 

I should probably explain how we were invited though, because it very well epitomizes making friends in Central America:

Step 1-See another group of loud 

       young-adult students on the 

       beach.

Step 2- Hope they speak English 

       and maybe have a very loud 

       conversation so they know 

       you speak English.

Step 3- Eventually make your 

       way over to find out where they are from, what they’re doing 

       and if they are immediately turned off by a stranger starting up 

       a conversation.

Step 4- Find a local passing by who wants to 

       play soccer.

Step 5- Play soccer and finally learn the 

      names of everyone you’ve been talking to.

Step 6- Laugh, Run, Play, Say Goodbye, 

      watch everyone walk off into the sunset, 

      and head back to the hostel.

Step 7- Get in the shower at the hostel and 

      suddenly hear the owner shouting your 

      name because someone is on the phone 

      and asking for you.

Step 8- Get out of the shower to find that the 

      Massachusetts folks had remembered which hostel we 
      were staying in and gone to the effort of finding the 
      number, calling us up and asking if we’d like to come over.

Step 9- Victory Dance  

Nearly everyone in there group had studied abroad last year and they had rented a huge house with a pool and beautiful view of ocean for the week, so we all felt content to just spend the evening sharing stories on the deck. Eventually we did decide to walk down to the water, so our night ended with swimming in the moonlight and drying off around a wonderful bonfire. This was by far one of the best nights I've had in my entire time abroad. It was great to hear from people who are planning great adventures in the world and looking forward to making a difference. Their adventurous spirits had led them to us and I’m sure will lead them to incredible places down the road.

Our last day in the area was spent at the local Nature Preserve with Chris, a Canadian we had met at our hostel who was willing to explore with me while the others went to the beach again. We had an awesome time walking through the jungle and we even happened to see a sloth cross the road! If you know anything about sloths, this was a once in a lifetime experience. The area also had some incredible miradores that looked out over the ocean and beautiful coastline of the Parque Nacional.

            

                               

That afternoon, we hopped on bus headed north toward the Peninsula de Nicoya, a small branch off of the mainland that is easiest to reach by ferry. The ride across turned into a beautiful sunset cruise and we arrived just in time to catch a taxi to Santa Teresa and Tranquilo Backpackers for the rest of our stay. This hostel definitely gave a feel for the traveling life. We met people from all over the world, most of them surfers, who travel for months at a time or have found a way to work from anywhere, provided they have cold beer and internet access. We spent most of our time on the beach, drank a few too many margaritas and saw some of the most beautiful skies I can remember. Our last night in Costa Rica was spent in a small town back on the mainland where we found a delicious local place with seafood dishes and functional fans. Our hotel for the night also had air-conditioning! So we stayed in, drank toña and learned a lot about each other in a tiny hotel room  in Puntarenas.

 

Our adventure back to Nicaragua is a story in and of itself, but I’m going to wait and share it as the beginning of my tales from Peru! In other words, Stay Tuned!