El Crucero...your gonna want to see this!


El Cureco is right outside of Managua. This was by far the most picturesque place I have been to. Some of the pictures you can't even tell if we are in Ireland, Scotland, or Nicaragua. Well we headed there this past Sunday and brought a picnic and just asked a local farmer if we could go on his land. We paid him $4 for the four of us to hangout there as long as we want. This guy owns more than 100 acres of land that has been passed down from generation to generation. It's incredible when you see the pictures.

The owners house..can you believe they own this awesome land!



A cute little pink house

Me with the beautiful scenery

Our sweet ride

Day Trip to Leon

Rented a car and drove to Leon. This was a beautiful drive from Managua.  I feel like we get to travel somewhere every weekend we are pretty lucky. Well, the Nicaraguans say that Leon is one of the hottest places in Nicaragua and I agree with them.

León is another architecturally interesting center with many old, colonial houses, streets, monuments, and churches. I enjoyed walking around this city and taking in all the different churches we saw.

Recoleccion

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El Calvario

                                        Here are some more pictures of the beautiful town...

We also went to the beach which was completely empty of people. We wander around went exploring and found these huge cliffs.

I love when you are in a new place everything seems new and exciting I hope I don't lose that feeling that longer I am here.

Mombacho Volcano... Conquering the Puma Trail

Mombacho is a volcano about 20 minutes away from Granada. At the volcano you can choose between many different levels of hike trails or you can do the canopy tour. We choose to do the Path El Puma which is a 4 km hike that you should allow at least 4 hours for. We did it in 1 hour 45 minutes. But it was truly difficult and we were all in pretty good shape. We hurried towards the end so we could catch the bus down the mountain. Our guide said someone did it in 45 min which seems nearly impossible with how steep the stairs are going up and down. Our guide does this route everyday, I'd say that is a pretty good workout...he was barely breaking a sweat! These Nicaraguans!

A few things to consider:
~ How long your want to be on the mountain. There are buses that take you up and down but they only go at certain times of the day.
~ The cost to get in per person is C$180
~ If you do the hardest trail you have to have a guide. For Spanish speaking it's $10 and English $15.
~ Don't forget water and snacks because it's a difficult hike and there is no where to get these things when you are hiking.

Mercedes Bus that took us up the Volcano

Cullen and I with Granada behind us.

Jeanne, Me, Cullen, David, and Rebecka at the beginning of the hike.

Stairs going up the Volcano

Next time I would love to do the canopy tour...It would be best to just spend the day there and do it all!

Weekend in Granada

Granada, was my first experience of a true town where you could walk around comfortably. In Managua you pretty much have to drive everywhere. There aren't many parks or squares to hang out in, so Granada was refreshing. While we were there we stayed at Hotel Plaza Colon which is right in the main square. The rooms were perfect had air conditioning and comfortable beds and many books to choose from. The hotel had a beautiful lounge and pool area and a complimentary cocktail and breakfast..always a bonus! There is a sweet little euro cafe in the same block where you can get humus, lattes and other delicious treats. Also we didn't got here but I hear it is a must for breakfast "Kathy's Waffle House."

Hotel Colonial Bedroom

Hotel Plaza Colon Pool

The Dock at Lake Nicaragua

Cathedral of Granada

Central Park

 It was my friend Jeanne's Birthday so later that night we went out to dinner at Trattoria Garibaldi which had delicious Italian food that was very affordable. It was pouring out so our hotel lent us yellow umbrellas. It was a great night out and we rested up for our adventures the next day.

Our First Adventure in Nicaragua...Pochomil Beach

     I just arrived to Nicaragua on Thursday August 26th and the following day I went to school with Cullen and helped out in a 1st grade classroom.  That evening we had a party at our house and I got to meet some other teachers both Nicaraguan and American. Slept in and woke up to a sunny day where we relaxed and took it easy. On Sunday we got a taxi for the day. Our drivers name was "Victor" he took us to Pochomil beach.
     THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT NICARAGUA IS THAT THEY ARE ON "NICA TIME." This means that Nicaraguans are in no rush to do anything and a simple drive to the beach that should take 1 hour can take 2 1/2 hours.
     So we drive to this beach which starts on paved roads then goes to cobblestone, to dirt, to mud and then we turn around because we can't go any further and head back down the mud, dirt and cobblestone road to get there another way. We arrive at the beach and I would say this beach is a 3 on a scale of 1 to 10.Better beaches to come...