Blogs from Managua, Capital Region, Nicaragua, Central America Caribbean - page 8

I wonder why they call it a red eye....hmmmmm. What a day! From leaving our school at 4:45 on Friday afternoon to a 12:00 arrival in Mangua the next day...it was smooth sailing. Unbelievably, all the possible delays were smooth sailing and we arrived in Nicaragua with ease, but that is only the nut shell version of the story. We crossed the US border with ease, the incredibly organized binder (thanks to Lonna) making our interactions with US Customs easy. The next big decision was where we should eat supper. A protracted cell phone discussion finally resulted in Bellis Fair Mall, much to the chargrin of one participant who wanted Jack in the Box. Our SURF training prevailed and into the mall we went. Virtually all participants settled on the Mongolian grill restuarent where we celebrated ... read more

Wow...what a day. The trip is coming so fast and it still seems like there is so much to do. Today, however, a major task was completed; packing for the trip. Several hours and 27 pieces of luggage later, we were packed. All 27 bags contained donated items for Nicaragua. One of the greatest blessings in this process has been the generosity of the various people in our community of donated of their products and funds to make all of this possible. While we live in a material world, the generosity of the human spirit is amazing to watch. As Craig Kielsburger says, we in North America have won 'the lottery of life' and yet when we plan a project like this, we find that people are so willing to share. Truly a blessing! Today we ... read more

Veel wakker geweest deze nacht voor verschillende redenen: - lawaai en koud van de airco / fan - lawaai van de howler monkeys Tegen 7u afscheid genomen van Roberto en aan de weg gaan wachten op ons busje dat redelijk stipt aankwam. Halverwege effe gestopt voor pi-break en lekkere cocostaartjes gekocht voor ontbijt. Tegen 10.30u waren we aan het trefpunt waar we van busje moesten wisselen...meer dan een uur gewacht op de correspondentie *zucht*, gelukkig vlogen er daar wat papegaaien rond dus hebben we onze bezigheid wel gehad. Tegen 1u waren we eindelijk in Liberia aan de bushalte waar we dachten vlug effe ticketjes te kopen en dan...hup richting Managua, niets was minder waar! Op geen van beide busstations bleek iemand ons te kunnen zeggen van waar en wanneer er nu juist een bus naar Nicaragua ... read more

Ok, thanks. Sure this wasn´t quite the welcoming we were expecting and after the bus driver, taxi driver, local security guard, restaurant waitress and two separate police officers all felt the overwhelming need to provide this introduction to the capital of Nicaragua we did begin to wonder. Had we made a momunmently silly decision, were we in real danger and just where were all the other gringos. There had been loads of them at the border crossing from Costa Rica, but it seemed that as the bus made its way further into the heart of the Sandinista Homeland their numbers had simply melted away, perhaps it was the heat. Whatever the reason we were alone in the heart of Managua and for the first time in almost 11 months and 19 countries a touch scared. Now ... read more

I tried not to have any expectations for this trip, but I couldn't help myself. I had dedicated the last year of my life entirely to learning Spanish so I could return and talk to the people who had changed my life the year before. If the trip was amazing and life altering when I didn't even speak Spanish, I could only imagine it being that much more awesome with a fluent understanding of the language. Back then I knew just enough to promise that I would return. Most rolled their eyes and smiled sadly as though they wanted to believe me but couldn't. They had seen many volunteers in the past come and help briefly only to leave and never be seen again. I was determined not to be one of these people. When I ... read more