Mombaucho Volcano

Today, a group from work went to Mombacho Volcano, about 30 minutes outside Managua. We all met up around 7 am and headed out early to get a good hike in before heading down to the canopy tour zip line. It was a pretty leisurely paced trek, filled with a ton of beautiful views of the crater as well as overviews of both Granada and Managua. It was pretty wild on top of the volcano; it was super windy and, because we were in a cloud, really misty and pretty cold. Fortunately, the views got better as the day wore on and I was able to get some cool photographs. Thus, I’m attaching more photos than usual so you can see all the shots.

After the hike, we hopped back in the preferred mode of transportation at Mombacho: a Russian military truck outfitted with ten rows of seats in the rather large truck bed. We quickly gobbled our packed lunches and then went to the canopy tour. I was really excited, as we had heard how extensive their course was, though also bit nervous due to my left index finger still being bandaged up. My fears were quickly dissipated upon being presented with a glove modified to have an open spot for “handicapped” finger. Up in the canopy, we had a great time zipping from tree to tree for a good hour and a half. I even was able to do the famed “Superman” and upside down positions on two of the legs. Then, on the last leg, we zipped from a tree down to level ground and the guides made you bob up and down by toying with the line. I’ll try to attach a video of me going through this; it was a pretty crazy feeling going up and down so much. In general, the canopy tour was a great experience, but it did make me very sentimental for Jill’s trip to Nicaragua a few weeks back. I have to confess though; she was the only one to do the “superman” during our Tiscapa canopy tour.

We concluded our active day by going to downtown Granada and getting a little dessert at the “Chocolaté Café.” My chocolate cake and strawberry shake were delicious. Then, we just mingled a bit around the town square, soaking in the sun in Central America’s oldest city. Of course, this also added to the sentimentalism of the day, as Jill and I also did this.

Overall, it was a great day experiencing Mombacho and just living life. Today really made me realize how fortunate I am to have this experience and I had to thank God for providing me with the opportunity. Well, my brother and dad are coming to Nicaragua on Monday; so next week should be a jammed packed adventure. I only have to work a few days, so we should have plenty of time to get some really good surfing in down near San Juan del Sur. I’ll keep the blog updated as much as possible. Until then, things should be relatively quite: church, tennis, and reading are the only items on my agenda tomorrow. Other than that, I’ll just be missing Jill and thinking about how much she’s enjoying lounging on one of Italy’s beaches.

I hope you enjoyed all the photos and found my blog meaty enough to be enticed for more.

Buenas Noches,

Lucas

Farewell Nail

So my hand currently resembles that of an alien. Let explain.
The Saturday after Jill left I had a bike accident and now am missing a finger nail. I was mountain biking on a mount above Managua and, on the way back down, lost control of my bike. The bike cushioned its fall by landing on my fingers. Miraculously, I didn't break anything, but I did manage to scrap up a good portion of my body and break the nail from one of my fingers clean off. It was pretty gnarly looking. Consequently, I've had to do some serious r&r and haven't had any more exciting expeditions. I've just been getting a lot of reading done and hanging around Managua with colleagues from work.
On a completely unrelated note, I attached the below picture to add a little "meat" to this more bland than usual blog post, I put this picture in from a barbecue I went to a few weeks back. The pig was, in fact, quite tasty.
Hope everyone is doing well at home; I'll be back in only a few weeks.

Catching Up

So it’s been two weeks since my last post and I have a lot to catch up on. First and foremost, Jill came to visit! She was here from July 2 to July 7, five nights and four days. It was a great trip for her (I hope…) and, naturally, for me as well. We got to pack a ton in the four days she was in Nicaragua. So, let’s start from the beginning.

Wednesday night Jill got in after her long flight from Atlanta and Managua welcomed her with its most celebrated tradition in July: rain. Pretty sad stuff, but we went to the mall down the street and had some good pizza and a relaxing evening together.

Thursday we got to indulge in my favorite part of Nicaragua- the beach. We got Luis, my trusty taxi driver, to take us on the hour trek to the beautiful beaches of Nicaragua. Once there, Jill treated all three (Luis included) of us to a delicious lunch of steak and rice at a hotel overlooked nothing but blue water. It and a small eco-lodge are the only two developments along a huge stretch of pristine beach. After lunch, we got a chance to lounge around the sand and swim around the bit. We were the only two people in sight along the beach. It was an incredible day, for sure.

Friday I convinced Jill to go a crazy adventure with me. We went zip lining across a lagoon in the middle of Managua. Jill was pretty nervous at first and I was trying my best to mask my anxiety and zipping over this lagoon at 40 mph. Nevertheless, we both got the courage to step up to the plate. Jill was even nice enough to let me go first, just to make sure the line was stable. Fortunately I lived to tell the tale and the experience was awesome. Jill barely survived her first run, as she and her guide got stuck in the trees and another instructor had to go rescue them. Nevertheless, she stayed courageous and kept on going. On the last leg, she even went “Superman” style, hanging totally upside down with her face about 2 feet away from the water. In the end, it was a great time and an experience we’ll both remember.

That afternoon we had about as patriotic holiday as possible in a foreign country- a barbeque at the Embassy. It was a fun time socializing with everyone and enjoying some good, American cooking. Jill and I also dominated an intense game of volleyball, thanks to my world-famous spikes! After the barbeque ended with some exhilarating sparklers, I decided to take Jill to our favorite post dinner activity, ice cream. We followed that up with by going to see Sex and the City (Spanish subtitles) in the theatre. It was a unique experience- funny movie with many subtleties missed by many of our neighbors that I just died laughing at. All in all, it was a great day, but nothing compared to what we had left!

Saturday Jill and I ventured down south to Granada, made famous by Samantha Brown of the travel channel. It’s a really cool town, the oldest in Nicaragua, and all built around a central square. After checking into our nice bed-and-breakfast (http://www.csf-hotel-granada.com/), we hopped in a taxi and went to the harbor of Lake Nicaragua, the biggest lake in Latin America. We hired a boat to tour us around for a few hours. Lake Nicaragua is beautiful and full of tiny islands created by an active volcano on the shore. We even got to see “Monkey Island,” where a vet had deposited a few monkeys years ago and, because monkeys apparently can’t swim, they remain today. They get their food from eager tourists and, consequently, are super aggressive. Here’s a picture of one getting a little too close to comfort.

On our final day in Nicaragua, we just walked around Granada and did a little shopping. I’m normally not a big fan of shopping, but I love bargaining (thanks Fisher & Ury). It was a good day, just hanging around town and chilling out.

Finally, we headed back to Managua and got Jill ready to return home. It was a sad good-bye, but it’ll only be a few more weeks before we see each other again.

Well I hope I’ve adequately filled everyone in on my time here; I still have some more catching up to do, but I’ll leave you with a little suspense until next time.

Chao,

Lucas