Ometepe, Corn Islands, Granada

Corn Island


Howler Monkey on Ometepe
Volcan Concepcion, Ometepe
Sorry for the delays in posts. There is just so much to do, see and so many distractions. I will do my best to recap the last few weeks. From San Juan Del Sur, I went to Isla de Ometepe, an island formed by two volcanoes in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America. To get out there, you take a ferry to the island. I stayed at a coffee farm on the island with my travel companion Gunvor from Denmark. I spent one morning treking around Volcan Maderas, the smaller of the 2 volcanoes. I went part way up, looking for howler monkeys with some other girls. 45 minutes up the trail, we found two trees full of monkeys. It was my first time seeing monkeys, out in the wild and boy are they just adorable. We were like the papparazi, standing there taking picture after picture of the monkeys. Definately the high light of Ometepe.

Soon after, Gunvor and I decided to take a little trip across the Carribean over to the Corn Islands. We flew to Big Corn and on our way met some lovely ladies from Norway. The 5 of us took a ferry over to Little Corn, a beautiful, tranquil island with no motor vehicles. The island is incredibly small, with about 1,500 inhabitants. The locals speak Englsih, Spanish and Creole. The island is surrounded with white sand beaches, crystal clear waters and a laid back life stlye. Our week there was spent swimming, sun bathing and relaxing. We did have a night out at a local bar where they were celebrating Palo Mayo (May Pole). The people tie ribbons and balloons in a tree which are supposedly filled with different things like money. The people dance around the tree, men climb up it to pop the balloons and wait to see what will fall from it. The dancing was pretty crazy, booty shaking African dance. It was fun to watch.

After the Corn Islands, Gunvor and I parted ways...she headed off to Panama and I to Granada which is where I am now. I spent yesterday at Laguna de Apoyo, a lake in the crater of a volcano. It was pouring rain the entire time there, but we made the most of it and swam in the warm water and relaxed at the isolated hostal. From here, I will be hanging out in Granada awaiting my good friend from college to come visit me for a week!

Nicaragua

View from Volcan Cerro Negro
Church in Leon
Our suits and volcano boards
Volcan Cerro Negro
New Friends before the hike

Alas, I am in Nicaragua. I stayed an extra few days in Honduras between Lake Joyoa and Tegucigalpa, the capital. Tegucigalpa was overwhelming...huge, loud, polluted, yet a welcoming city. I was with 2 other travelers when we were dropped in the middle of the city. We caught a taxi to downtown where we stayed for a night. We wandered around the colonial center which has a very western and bustling feel. One night there was plenty for me. The next morning, I headed out to make my way to Nicaragua with another traveler. After half a day on buses, we made it to Esteli, a small town in northern Nicaragua known for its coffee farms. We spent a day there and stayed in a scary hospedaje. The next morning, we headed to Leon which is where the adventures started. My first full day in Leon, I went up to Volcano Cerro Negro with a group to volcano board. We hiked up the youngest and most active volcano in Central America, had a 360 view of Leon, as far as the Pacific coast. At the top, we suited up into orange jump suits and goggles and got our boards, which look like sleds, ready to go down the volcano. I stepped up and went first with a guy from Australia. After a quick tutorial, we raced to the bottom on the gravel lava rocks. Going first was the best thing as I got to sit at the bottom and watch the other people come down...many of whom ate shit (pardon my language) but it was hilarious! One guy tumbled so hard that he scraped his nose and bruised his forhead! Opps! We had a long drive back into Leon, but they provided us with beer, granola bars and mojitos as soon as we got back to the hostel. A good day.

Two days ago I headed down south to San Juan Del Sur where I have a friend from college living here and working at a hostel. I spent all day yesterday at the beach, attempting to surf but mostly swimming around. The beaches are wonderful, but there are very tiny jellyfish that sting like crazy. Makes the water a bit unappealing, but the sun is so strong that you want to get into the water. Ill be here for a few more days before I head to the next desitination.

Still working on uploading picutres!

Thats all for now...

Border Crossing

Copan
Copan
Copan
My last few days in El Salvador were lovely. I still cant get over how wonderfully friendly the people are. I spent one afternoon in La Palma, a town just south of the El Salvadoran/Honduran border high up in the mountains. The buildings are beautifully painted with murals along the cobble stoned streets. From La Palma, I stayed with Heather, the Peace Corps volunteer in her tiny campo just a few kilometers outside of La Palma. In her tiny town, there are just about 100 houses, a few hundred people. Heather lives in a nice little house with her host sister and baby. The rest of the family lives right next door, in the same lot. Their houses are some of the nicest as they have 2 children in the states who are working and sending the money to them so that they can build their houses. Many people in El Salvador are in the same situation...with family in the states working to send money home, as the wages there are practically nothing. Heather showed me their family's kitchen which essentially is a wooden shack, with no flloor, just the dirt of the land, with a wood stove and the pila, which is a sink made out of concrete. The pila has 2 parts to it, a part that is always full of water (in case the water gets turned off, which was the case while I visited), and the drain. It is quite different than what we are used to in the states. Heather showed me the school she works at and introduced me to some of the teachers and the principal. Life in the campo is very tranquil and simple.

From La Palma, I took a bus up to the border and crossed into Honduras. It was my first time crossing a border by myself and without a shuttle bus waiting on the other side for me. Luckily, it was easy and I just had to pay $3 to enter the country. Once in, I began my 5 hours journey to Copan, a small town on the Honduran/Guatemala border. The bus rides were long, but the scenery was absolutely stunning. Honduras is so green, lush and mountainous. I didnt travel a far distance, from the border to Copan...its just the the roads go up and down through the mountains. Once in Copan, I found a nice youth hostel and met some other travelers. We went out and did a salsa lesson and danced for most of the evening. The following day, we went to the Maya Ruins of Copan, which were pretty awesome. They arent as enourmous as the ruins in Tikal, but the carvings and sculptures have been preserved and are in much better condition. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful site and I will post pictures of it when I can.

I spent the next few days in Copan just relaxing and enjoying the quaint, cobble stoned street town. I met lots of travelers and enjoyed the night life as well. From Copan, I headed to Gracias with 3 other travelers where we spent a few days. Gracias used to be the capital of all of Central America (at least that's what Lonely Planet says). Its a beautiful little town, but very quiet. We explored some hot springs just outside of town which were nice...although a bit out of the ordinary for such a hot day. We went on Sunday, which is family day. It was a neat experience to be there with lots of Honduran families, but it was quite crowded. I had a fan club of little girls who kept looking at me, and finally approached me just to ask my name, tell me theirs and their ages. It was adorable.

Im now in Los Naranjos, a small town just along Lake Joyoa. I made it here with 2 out of the 3 that I was in Gracias with. We are staying at a small hotel run by an Oregonian. Its also a brewery and I had a delicious beer yesterday. The boys and I went to a gorgeous park today along a river and we admired the 40 meter waterfall. Beautiful. Honduras has so much beauty.

Thats all for now. Again, I will update pictures when I can. Hope everyone is well!

Lastly, I was accepted to Portland State University as well, which is where I accepted. I will start in September 2010 for my Masters in Social Work.