sorry for the late update!

I think I last wrote in Nicaragua.  I then went to San Juan del Sur, also in Nicaragua.  After there I crossed into Costa Rica, going to a few different beaches along the Pacific Coast finally ending at the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, in Montezuma, where I celebrated my 25th birthday.  It was fantastic.  I arrived in Colorado yesterday, where I am visiting my brother in Boulder for a week or so.  In a few more days, I will be heading south, back to Oklahoma and Texas, only for a few days.  At last, I will reach Boston around August 21st or so.  

I have done some more surfing, lots of beach, some camping, a baseball game, and more!  

But I am back in the states where there is ice, washing machines, and toilet paper! Yessss....

Isla de Ometepe

Hey hey,

I am now in Isla de Ometepe, an island in Lake Nicaragua, comprised of two volcanoes.  Volcan Concepcion and Volcan Maderas.  I am now staying at Finca El Porvenir and it is absolutely beautiful.  I hiked the volcano yesterday, which in total is about a nine hour hike.  It was challenging but really beautiful.  There is a lake in the crater at the top, but itś only partly visible because the last hour or two of the climb is in the clouds. I climbed up by myself, and when arriving at the top where there were others, mostly groups, all with guides, and here I come out of the jungle, and they were all like  ¨you climbed up here by yourself?¨  Thanks Dad for all those camping trips and Brent for all the hikes.  It was a pretty straight-forward hike though.
I will probably stay on the island a couple more days and then head to San Juan del Sur. 
Internet is very limited, but I will update when I can.

AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST BROTHER EVER!!!  Love ya Brent!

Granada

Hi!

I´m in Granada now.  It´s okay.  Actually, I don´t really care for the city.  But I went on a canopy tour today, where you get to ´fly´ on all these zip lines through the jungle.  It was good fun. 
Tonight I am going to a baseball game!!  Nicaragua is the only country in Central America that plays baseball, but it is huge here. They definitely all know where Boston is and about the Red Sox.  Tonight is the championship game against Granada´s main rival, Esteli.  So it should be quite a good game and I´m going with a group from another hostel.
I think I will head out in the morning for the volcano islands, Isle de Ometepe, since I´m not really mad about this place.

Adios

don´t drink and let some nicaraguan woman cut your hair

Oh well, it will grow back i suppose.  Note to self:  mojitos and haircuts don´t mix.

Anyway, in addition to that adventure yesterday, I also went volcano boarding.  I have some great pictures, but will have to post them later.  But basically you hike up an active volcano and the board down on the ash and the rocks.  Rocks fly at your face and you are totally black by the time you get down the mountian.  My highest speed was a whole 38km/hr.  One guy in our group got 72km/hr!!!  The record is 80!  The volcano we hiked/boarded was Cerro Negro, which translates as ´black hill´ because when it first appeared it was only a small black hill and the people did not yet know it was a volcano.  There are a string of ten volcanoes here on the west coast of Nicaragua, and this is the youngest, only about 160 years old.   The last time it errupted was in 1999, for five and half days.  Anyway, the town I am in currently, Leon, if fantastic.  One of my favorites maybe and I am really enjoying Nicaragua, more than Honduras.  The locals here are just much nicer and have been since the minute I crossed the border.  I will probably stay here one more night (I met some cool other backpackers) and then tomorrow head to Granada, further south.

adios

Nicaragua

Just a quick update that I safely made it into Nicaragua and will start my travels here for the next couple weeks.  I am in Somoto for the night and will hopefully head to Leon in the morning.  Although, this cab driver kept telling me there are no busses tomorrow though.  Hell if I know.  I have a camera again, thanks to Andrew who safely made it out this morning (as far as I know right now!) and back to the States, so I can start posting pics again at some point hopefully!  We had a wonderful time at the beautiful Bay Islands and a long journey yesterday to the capital of Honduras, Tegucigalpa.

 

Miss everyone!

 

Hello Honduras

Hi!

Last Saturday, July 4th, was my final day at the orphanage.  Mixed emotions; I miss the kids already, but not so much the rats, lack of water, and constant bug bites.

I currently cannot post any photos (camera-done), so here is a link of the kids performing the Lion King.  Oh it was absolutely adorable! (I have not been able to watch this video, but I´m sure it´s great) We all pitched in with costumes, stage set, and rehearsals.  A lot of work, especially for Jorge who taught the kids all the song and dance and was the true organizer behind all of this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7PC-OuRECI

Since the orphanage, I have been traveling with Andrew, who arrived the following Sunday.  I took a bus Sunday to Guate from Rio Dulce and met him there.  The next day we headed to Antigua, which is not exactly seeing ´true Guatemala´, but it was a nice change of pace for me. 

We chilled in Antigua, took a day trip to Lago de Atitlan, which is beautiful, and we hiked up a volcano. 
After Antigua, we headed into Honduras, starting with Copan, to see the Copan Ruins.  It was more Maya ruins, similar to Tikal, but different in many ways as well.  It has been said that Tikal is the New York of the Mayan ruins, and Copan is Paris.  Both beautiful and impressive, just different.  While Tikal has temples of impressive magnitude and height, Copan has incredible statues and scupltures with emaculate detail. 
To see all of this, you can check Andrew´s blog.  No surprise, he is much better at this blog stuff.  There is more detail, more frequent updates, and pics as well.
http://andrewnalband.blogspot.com/
So no worries Mom and Dad, there will at least be great updates for the next week still as long as you check his blog.

We just came from Lago de Yojoa, after an interesting, and maybe, ´relationship building´ day on the lake.  Renting a paddle boat turned out to be....more work than initially anticipated.  (family, think of that wonderful family day on some lake-Lake Murray maybe-with the ore, and it being thrown in your direction dad...yeah, you can imagine)

Anyway, we are in La Ceiba for the night and will catch the ferry in the morning to the beautiful Carribean, Bay Islands.  There are three to choose from and I think we are planning on Roatan.  Supposedly beautiful beaches, great snorkeling, and diving.  I am looking forward to staying put for a few days and just relaxing on the beach.

That´s the latest and all is well!

.

wow, I love water.

Sorry it has been so long....again.

I have not seen civilization in 2 weeks and we have been without water now for 6 days at the orphanage, let alone electricity.  It has been `character building` to say the least.  And if you are now thinking how bad I must smell, well, yeah.  We have been `bathing` in the river....and washing our dishes there.  The same water you can see some of the toilets actually flush (those that flush) directly into.  Yep.

So Saturday is July 4th, Independence Day, and that just happens to be my last day at the orphanage......

The kids are doing well, considering the situation and how tired all of the volunteers have been. 

Hopefully I will be able to post a bit more once I am backpacking.  Andrew, see you on Sunday!

(and I don´t know about pictures, it is so humid here, I think my camera is done)