Buenos Dias!

Since we last blogged Corey and I have spent a lot of time in Nicaragua. We spent a week in Leon, which has been one of the warmest places yet. Durring that week we spent alot of time relaxing in between a few excursions to places around the city.

Corey: On the tuesday we went to the playa about 30mins down the road on the pacific coast. I believe it was called Playa Pintas. Jen really loved this spot because it felt alot like Tofino, with surfers playing in the waves, dark sand and the spray of the ocean except it was really hot. We spent the day there on the beach in the water and trying some of the local cuisine under the beach side cabanas. One interesting spectical was the fishing boats breaking through the surf on thier way out to the ocean. It was quite inpressive in those small boats.

On wednesday the city of leon held a huge fiesta for the conception of Jesus. People from all over the country crowded into the city square to see fireworks set off from the cathedral (central americans know how to do up firewoks right) and to participate in a ritual similar to our halloween, only more angry mob-like. After the fireworks Bags were handed out to everyone in the crowd and people began going from door to door around the city to recieve free items such as toys, matches, food, candy, and fruit. All the buisinesses set up shrines to the virgin mary and handed out candy to anyone putting thier hand out. We decided to partake and Jennifer collected a sprising amount of loot. I think her height and skin colour hand something to do with it. She could reach right over the crowds and get her hand in thier first and people seemed compeled to give her things. We handed out most of the candy we recieved to kids on the street who were to young to get caught up in the rush, but we kept and are eating other things like rice and soup broth. It was quite a memorable night.

Jen: The next day, thursday, we went to Cerro Negro (black hill), which is the volcano we boarded down. The ride to the volcano was a very bumpy 40 minute truck ride. We rode in the back of a trasformed military transport with a gun terret on top of the cab. Once we arrived to the volcano we were handed our orange satchels filled with our jumpers and goggles and our boards. The boards were pretty much tabogans with a strip of mica fibre to help you pick up speed on the sand. We then began our hike to the top which took about an hour. The view from the top was amazing. We were able to walk around and check out the crator and touch the steamy hot sand. We then suited up. We sported an orange jumpsuit with green goggles. We were given a crash course in volcano boarding and then we were ready! The instructor made the women go first, which I was not too happy about, although in the end it was great to see all the guys come zoomin down. I was the second one to go, I hopped on the board, cautiously, and got ready for the push. It was terrifying staring down the side of a very steep volcano! Our instructor gave me a push and down I went! I was definitely not the bravest of the group, I pretty well kept my brakes on ( my heels in the sand) the whole way down. Although I only recieved a speed of 19km/h that was the best of the 4 girls who recieved 18km/h, haha. I then got to watch Corey come shootin down with a speed of 48km/h!! He came 3rd amongst all the other guys we went with. After everyone was finished we hopped on the truck and were given an ice cold beer, which we quickly lost half of driving the bumpy road out. I forgot to mention that a film crew came to shoot us coming down the mountain for a news cast. We'll post the link when the video is up!

We left Leon that Sunday and headed to Esteli where we took one week of spanish classes. We were put up in an apartment above a families home, it had a beautiful view and the apartment was better than most hostels we've stayed in. Our classes were from Mon-Friday 8:30-12:30, we also received three meals a day which pretty well consisted of beans, rice, beans, watermelon, beans, plantains, and more beans. By the second day i could barely choke down my supper. I never want to look at another plate of gallo pinto again! (rice mixed with beans) Besides the food, Corey and I had an amazing time in Esteli, we went on so many excursions! The first was a medium sized cigar factory with about 100 workers and was one of about 100 factories in Esteli. We learned about the processes of making cigars. Drying and fermenting, sorting, rolling, and smoking. Check the video on facebook that Corey posted.

Next, we went to a tiny recycled paper factory. This was created to provide an income for single mothers. We were able to the process of turning used paper products into pulp and then paper again. We'll post those photos soon. Our next trip was to a womens community help centre, a safe place for women to come. Aiding women who had been abused and their children and providing health aid. The centre is free of charge and provided cheap medications.

Our last excursion was a day trip on Saturday to El Tisey a conservation area. We were able to see how cheese was made, some organic farming, and crazy man who carves sculptures into rock. In the afteroon we hiked up a mountain which overlooked the valley of Esteli to the east and Lago de Managua and the chain of volcanoes to the west. We then hitched a ride home with our guide.

...Okay we will complete this blog later because we are starving and it's too hot and we are getting fuzzy headed.

ADIOS