To Hell and Back

I had another fun and adventurous weekend. I went to a party at one of the other volunteer houses Friday night and had a few beers. The others talked me into coming out for one more drink at a bar/club. I did only have one drink there, but ended up staying there awhile. On the night, I just had 4 beers but did not get to bed until 2:30. I was up Saturday morning at 6:50 to get ready for a trip to Leon with Erin, Steijn, and Marleise. We hopped on a bus to Managua and then took another to Leon. I was stupid and read about Leon on the first bus. I ended up feeling fairly sick. Luckily, our hostel in Leon was very nice and relaxing. We saw a little of the town and had some lunch. This made me feel even worse, so I headed back to the hostel for a nap. The others returned shortly, and we spent the afternoon lounging by the pool. We were able to find some good bread, which is rare in Nicaragua. We paired it with cheese, wine, and garlic butter for a nice supper in an open-air courtyard next to the pool. After supper, we played a game of 500 and headed to bed early. The dorm room that we stayed in was very hot, noisy, and fairly light. When I crawled out of bed at 3:50 AM, I had maybe got 2 hours of sleep. I felt alright, though, and we headed to Quetzzel Trekkers to meet our guides and have a little breakfast. Breakfast consisted of one boiled egg, one small banana, and coffee. Not the best breakfast, but the coffee was hearty and very dark. After breakfast, we headed into the streets of Leon before even the market vendors were stirring. We waited about 20 minutes for our bus to arrive. It was really interesting to see the city start to come to life. One minute a loud motorcycle would buzz by and the next, an old man leading two oxen pulling a cart full of wood. As I have said before, it is really a different world here.

Our group of 8 was among the first on the bus. In a matter of minutes, we were out of the city and bouncing along small uneven gravel roads. Watching the sun rise behind a string of volcanoes was unbelievable beautiful. Sadly, the locals seemed to take no notice. I always try to remember that everywhere is beautiful in its own way. I think people often lose the ability to see the beauty where they live. I hope I never lose the ability to see the amazing beauty of a sunrise on Lake Koronis. I did not take a picture of the sunrise outside of Leon. I am not exactly sure why I did not, but I think it may have been because nobody else seemed to be taking notice. I did not want to look like a typical tourist.

The bus made a number of stops, picking up people who I think were heading to the market. The driver had to slow down a number of times for men herding cattle down the middle of the road. We got off the bus just as the sun was peeking over the tops of the volcanoes. We could already feel the heat of the sun, and realized quickly why we started so early. Our group headed down a very small country road with barbed wire fences running along both sides. A few stray cattle had wandered onto the road, and did not know what to do when they encountered us. The first ran a little bit, got scared, and crashed through the fence. We did our best to repair the fence and continued down the road, only to encounter another stray. This time there was a nearby whole in the fence which allowed her to safely rejoin her buddies.

After a mile or so of walking on the small country road through a grove of small trees and bushes, we entered a large expanse of black sand dunes. From this point of the hike on, I felt like I was on another planet. Cerro Negro is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. The last erruption was in 1999, and our guides tell us the usual cycle is about every 9 years and that she is due for another. They may have just been trying to scare us, but I am pretty sure they were serious. Cerro Negro is well known because the whole thing is covered in black volcanic sand. Adventurous travelers can head down the side of the volcano on a snowboard or toboggan-like creation. Or, one can simply run/jump/slide down the side of the volcano.

Some say Cerro Negro is the gateway to hell. We walked up the side of the volcano and then directly into the steaming sulferic crater. So, I guess I have been to the gates of hell and back. It was pretty fun for being so close to hell, though. I am positive that there is no way we would have been allowed into the center of the crater if Cerro Negro were in the U.S. Our guides told us the same thing. They said some of the fungus-like stuff growing there is some of the most fragile plant life in the world. And, of course, there is the risk of serious danger.

The views were amazing at the top. We walked around the rim and took in the views before heading down. The run down the side was very fun. It is pretty steep, but you sink into the sand, so it is easy to stop and stay in control. I have some good pictures and videos of this experience.

All-in-all, the trip was hot, dusty, and dirty but totally worth it. It seems this will probably be my last trip with Erin, Steijn, and Marleise. They are great travel companions, and I will certainly miss them.

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School was a bugger today. We had a lot of little ones again, and they were in a squirrly mood. They were fairly quiet for the first hour, but it was very loud after that. It is hard for me to control this with my very limited Spanish and the very loose structure of life and school here. Erin, Laura, and I were all feeling a little crazy by the time lunch finally rolled around. Our classroom is about half the size of a classroom at PAHS. Imagine 15 children aged 2-5, 3 volunteers, and a couple older kids jammed in there. That is our day. Erin is not feeling well but tries not to let others know. She reminds me of mom in this way-no complaining. I will try to convince her to take tomorrow off. We really need her, but she needs rest.

There are a lot of going away activities this week, as most of the volunteers are leaving. I will be going to a number of parties, dinners, and the like. I am actually late to one now, so I must be going. I am really glad to see that a good number of people are enjoying the blog. I always enjoy seeing the comments, though I have been really bad at responding. My time on the internet is limited, and I usually spend more time just writing my blog than I meant to. I will try to get better.