I wrote this poem on a cramped chicken bus ride towards cosiguina (a volcano in the North of Nica). There were pot holes in the road the size of small towns, so I figured Id try and get it down in a more legible format. give us your guns not bags of rice and corn let us defend ourselves from the ever changing enemy the well trained magician who never ceases to disappear only to turn up cloaked in the flag of a different nation with new expectations and conditions illuminating countries in neon with a wave of his wand turning [View Full Entry]

---

---

Into the big city we went, and getting off the bus were not impressed with our filthy surroundings and touchy beggers. But further travel led us to a nice hotel with cheap rooms on a clean street out of the way from the chaos. We stayed a night before heading up to the volcanic crater lake Laguna de Apoyo. We stayed 2 nights at the Craters Edge Hostel were we swam and drank away the days. We also went down to the nearby town known for its market called Masaya and did some shopping. Then it was back to Granada for [View Full Entry]

---

---

Got a ride to the Monkey Hut, the Bearded Monkeys Hostel on the Laguna. Return trip was $3, and entrance was $6, although for another $4 you could spend the night. They keep the entrance fee at $6 simply to keep the "chill atmosphere" at the Hut. The lake is nice. Much like any lake in Manitoba or Ontario, it's got fresh water with bad viz, and surrounded by trees. The Hut has 3 kayaks, one missing a back rest, tire tubes, a floating dock and plenty of grass for lying around. Me Casey and Darren took off with the [View Full Entry]

---

---

After the long week with the kids, it was time for a needed break, some group bonding time and for reflection. Yet before we go, we are offered a few surprises back on the range. Some former volunteers, actually from MN, Matt and his wife Rachel, come to visit for a week. The kids still remember them! Having met early in school, they went to college together, during which they took a break to serve with NPH for a year. They returned to the states to get married and finish their schooling. After that, they served another year with NPH. They [View Full Entry]

---

---

We made our way back to Granada and met up with Achim and Veronica- my friends that traveled together with me in Guatemala, El Salvador and now Nicaragua. It was so great to see them again as we were trying to meet up for several days now but kept missing each other by like a day (they even stayed in the knat infested playa Santo Domingo and slept at Hospedaje Gloriana the night after we left- trying to track us down). It was great to be able to see them again so they could finally meet Michelle and hang out for [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hi. this is mark. I hope this message finds you all in good spirits. Today, during spanish class, our teacher told us that in the north of nicaragua there are around 7 people that change into monkeys at night in order to steal things and rape women. She was totally serious. Yesterday, we saw some monkeys in the forest near the school when we were walking with her and she told us she was scared of them. Today she concluded her story with, " y esta es la razon no me gustan los monos". Because I only can pick up [View Full Entry]

---

---

Laguna de Apoyo Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua » Laguna de Apoyo By Code99 May 28th 2007 Ward BoundsLaguna de Apoyo is a great place to lie around and take it easy for a few days. [View Full Entry]

---

---

We started our Nicaraguan adventure in San Juan del Sur in the south west. From the Costa Rican border we jumped on an over crowded ´chicken´ bus. These are actually old yellow American school buses just like in the Simpsons, and they provide a rattly, dusty, cramped, bone-crunching, cheap and interesting way of getting around. Nicaragua is an incredibly poor country (the second poorest in the northern hemisphere after Haiti) and has had a very turbulent recent history. It also has an incredibly young population which I think brings its own problems as there is increasing violence and gang troubles [View Full Entry]

---

---

I met my dad at the airport on Thursday March 29th. He was hungry after a day of travel, but since we were staying in the middle of a forested area with no comedors, his welcome to Nicaragua meal was fried chicken at a fast food place along the highway with our cab driver sharing the booth with us. Dad pointed out that Narcy´s, the fried chicken place, was exactly like fast food restaurants in the States, except with an alter for the Virgin Mary on the wall. We stayed at Laguna de Apoyo, just down the road from where I [View Full Entry]

---

---

Arrived in Granada, Nicaragua for the wedding after a long, but surprisingly comfortable bus trip over 2 days. I met a nice traveler from New York at the Guatemala City TICA bus station and adopted him as my travel buddy and Valentines Day dinner date for our overnight stay in San Salvador. Granada is as hot as I expected- with the low temp here being the same as the high temp in Guatemala (96F high and 72F lows in Nicaragua)! As I stumbled around the main square searching for a place to eat, I really wished I had left some of [View Full Entry]

---

---