Volcanic Matter

If one thing had lacked in my travels this time around it was hiking. I can't say that anymore after finding the crater(s) of four of Nicaragua's volcanoes in just a weeks time. After hiking Volcan Masaya and Volcan Mambachu we took off to Isla Ometeme where two challenging volanoes make up the island.

I will back track a bit. Our group of volunteers decided to get a big trip together a a big hooooraahhh to those of us who are leaving this month. Fifteen of us packed our packs and set off in the early morning for Ometepe. I learned quickly that traveling in big groups isn't my thing. First, you get bombarded more than usual as you step of chicken buses for taxis-they also jack up the prices-just because they can. Second, finding a hostel that suits all needs can be a bit of a headache. I just stayed in the shuttle we booked off the ferry until all decisions were made so that the real adventure could begin.

We arrived in the afternoon sat back and enjoyed a Toña before heading off to the natural water pool- Ojos del Agua. Being frugal as I am, a few of us decided that the hourly fee for bikes was too expensive so we took off on foot. Our stubbornness was worth it. About 100 meters up the road was a little comedor that rented bikes for half the price and also served really cheap food that ended up feeding us that majority of the weekend. So we mounted our bikes just behind the other group that got them at the hostel and speed off to the water pools. It was far from what I expected from a natural water spring. The water was refreshing, but it was more of a pool than sitting in what I imagined it to be a  dubbed as a natural water hole. As soon as we arrived the sun went away and a storm rolled in, but we still sat to enjoy and relax a bit before a quick bike ride  home through the rain. That night we went back to the comedor to eat. I ordered the big fish to share with our German friend for his second meal. Good thing I was sharing it too! This thing was literally better than my face! Between the two of us we devoured it.  This comedor worked out great for us. My adventure co-pilot, Jack, and I had decided to hike La Concepcion(the bigger volcano towering at 5,282 feet- and yes we started at sea level) while the others hiked Volcan Maderas the next day. We arranged to have breakfast ready for us at 5:30 am and rice to pack up to the top.

Come 5:30 everything went as planned we enjoyed a hearty breakfast and packed up our rice just before the bus came to take us to the entrance of La Concepcion. We decided to go without guide- to us it didn't seem worth it to pay nearly $30 to go on a day hike. Although every local on the way told us that we were crazy we went for it. The guy working the entrance- well actually gardening and stopping us to pull the sign in book out of his bag across the field- had no problem with us going up. The trail was straight up and straight down. Easy as pie- he basically said. We set off and instantly got some slope under our shoes. La Concepcion was  extremely steep and rocky for the majority of the trail lacking any sort of switch back. Once higher on the mountain we were wishing we had a machete because most of the bush had overgrown the trail over the low season. Just as we were thinking that the trail clearly hadn't been crossed in a few days we were greeting by two medics coming down the mountain with their 17 year old guide. One thing I love about being from Bozeman, when you tell someone you meet on a Volcano in Nicaragua that you are from Montana they automatically say "Oh? Bozeman area?" or at least that was my experience. The medics informed us we weren't far off from the top, but that the crater was exceptional. So we marched on to above the tree line where the wind was brutal and chilly after being saturated in sweat and water from the plants lining the trail. We literally crawled our way up to look over the steep drop of the crater. Since we had been hiking in the clouds the majority of the hike there wasn't much of a view more than 10 feet in front of us but the crater itself was utterly impressive! No warning just a drop and lots of sulferic gas coming from the depths. Definitely worth the summit! The way down was a bit trickier we slid down the rocks lining the top in two big sweeps to get back on the trail. Now, I hate going down any mountain, but I REALLY hated going down La Concepcion. The whole way down I felt like a crab because I was holding on to anything and everything so that I didn't slip on the steep rocks we had just climbed up. I was more than content when we got to the bottom to look at the-now not so cloudy Volcano to know what I wouldn't have to go down that again.

We made our way back to the hotel to meet up with the other group. To our suprise they hadn't made it back yet. Our hike was supposed to be super long but only took us about 3.5 hours to summit and a good amount longer to get down. Immediately upon return everyone was talking about the intensity of the hike and how exhausted they were. Naturally we were intrigued and decided to give it a go the next morning despite the wear on our bodies from that day.

We woke up at 4:30 to hit the mountain early in order to make the ferry home in the afternoon. The hike of Volcan Maderas was like a walk in the park to Concepcion, but our fatigue was super evident about half way in so we took it slow and steady. I was really proud of us for getting so much slack for not taking guides and only getting off the main track once which turned out to be  an awesome detour. We stumbled upon a hike through a coffee plantation where we were greeted by the loudest symphony of howler monkeys yet and found a massively beautiful spider. When we got back on the main trail we were fooled by the summit. Unlike La Concepción when you get to the top you basically round the crater for a mile or so over some flat ground before you decend into the lake in the middle of it. There wasn't the same sense of accomplishment in seeing the crater, but it was super satisfing to get our fourth volcano done in just over a week. Success!! The hike took us round trip 7 hours and we were more than ready and to reach the bottom. When the time came our legs were best and we were forgetting that you need to step with your right foot THEN left foot. Yet we made it back to sugar up and otake a truck, ferry, taxi, bus, and tuk tuk to get back to Granada-all in that order. Although, walking to school this week has been really rough with the soreness setting in as soon as we sat down it was an epic weekend. We defiantly bit off more than our muscles could handle, but the soreness spreading over five days was totally worth it- plus it was great to have someone share the pain with when trying to run or jump with kids. It has proved to be a quite comical hinderance. 

We wrapped up this week with a trip to Laguna de Apoyo just outside of Granada. Again, a big group was organized but this time we just kept on marching instead of waiting to gather them all. It proved to be a perfect adventure. We hopped on the first chicken bus that said we would be able to manage to get there, not sure if he was telling us the truth or not. We spent the whole bus ride in laughter not sure if we were headed to a random town to tour or would indeed make it to the Laguna. Finally, the bus stopped to let us of by a big sign reading "El Pollo" we thought we had been tricked into going to somewhere that sounds super similar to apoyo- but no on the other side of the road was a sign leading to the reserve. We ended up meeting some locals who were on their way too and made sure to show us the trail full of mud and rocks that we descended so gracefully in our flip flops. Probably 40 minutes and one detour to see where they used to get their drinking water from later we made it to the laguna. We stayed with our new friends to go to the local "beach" and get some of the thermal waters that were sitting close to shore while they fished up some bate and some larger fish for their dinner later that night. It was great to get a local feel to a place that is otherwise catered to by resorts. We had a perfectly peaceful afternoon and got a little bit of culture tied into it.


For now that is all she wrote... I am sticking in Granada the rest of the weekend to explore a bit and get things set to take off North and make my way to Guate and beyond after my last week of volunteering.

Nica Time

Rolling into Nicaragua I instantly saw the caring nature of the people here and their economical struggles. As we crossed the border our bus stopped about a minute in route to give food to someone working the other side of the border and then contines to roll by a graffiti sign on a incomplete concrete building declaring "bienvenidos a Nicaragua."

So far my experience in Ncaragua has been eye opening rolled on with a whole lot of fun. I am volunteering with an organization called La Esperanza Granada that works with the lower income schools around the tourist hub of Granada. In working with them I have got a peek ino the issues and struggles behind the education here on a number of fronts. My job is to pull a list of kids out of class and give them on one help. Yet, they don't give me what they need help with or a curriculum of any sort. Most of the kids are 7-10 and I am working with them on the alphabet, writing letters and simple addition and subtraction. The kids are beautiful and full of energy and when I have them they are (for the most part) willing to learn, but when I send then back to class they get caught trying to write the shapes on the board to fill the space in their notebooks. It is hard to see kids as old as 17 struggling to attend and pass grade six. Yet it must be said that it is great to have the chance to help them, but difficult to see how my four or five weeks here will has little educational value to them. I have had some highlights so far though... My first day with a girl Karlota she easily wrote her numbers and rattled off the multiples of ten but struggled adding. So I decided to teach her multiples of 5 and the patterns that go with it- by the end the lightbulb went off and she had he biggest sparkle in here eye. We played hop scotch with the multiples and it was obvious how excited she was to come back the next day. First success! I hope this continues, but my time is limited with random days off for teacher meetings, bi-weekly flouride rinses, and bi-weekly computer practice it is hard to meet with all the kids who need us.

We also have had an interesting perspective on the lack of education in health. Last Friday we had a dental clinic where NYU dental students came into do free dental work in Granada with kids as their main focus. Some kids walked with with all their teeth rotten and changing colors and others had cavities and doctors to take priority with only the permanent teeth. What was most shocking was the parents, after the docor explained the issue to them- that is those that were there- they immediately brought the kid a candy and/or juice for the wait. HELLO! There is a reason behind your child having to have all of his/her teeth pulled. It was heart wrenching holding kids hands while the were numbed and drilled into- it will be hard yet necessary to go to the dentist at home. Especially after indulging a few days a week on coke-to-go-in-a-bag.

My other perspective of Nicaragua so dar is the wonderful markets and volcanos. On a daily basis we meander through the markets and buy all sorts of fresh fruit, veggies, beans, and naturally...rice. Something about local markets and straight up delicious goods makes me feel alive and so content with meals on a daily basis. Volcanoes have the same affect for me. So far in my two weeks here I have been able to "hike" two volcanoes with one- maybe two- coming up this weekend.

My second weekend here we chicken bused it to Volcan Masaya just 45 minutes away from Granada. Masaya has an active crater and an inactive crater- both of which are beautiful in their own ways. The Montana girl I am I was set for a trail hike with a few switch backs only to find the road paved and full of tourist buses an we treked our way up there. The approach over the hill was kinda funny. It looked like a whole bunch of tourist ants huddling around a plum of smoke. The active crater was kinda eary and Lord of the Rings esk, but it's own lo of beauty. We later hiked up to the inactive cater and it couldn't be more different the trees were over grown and it seemed as if a number of new species could be easily discovered there. It was a fun adventure for my new little community found through La Esperanza- we finished off exploring the market and getting some good ol' El Salvadorian Papusas from the street.

The next day we got a discounted exersion (it pays to volunteer) to the isletas on Lake Nicagua right outside of Granada. We got a nice boat ride out there to a private island with a pool and barbaque. The best part was the boat ride back. I left with the first group ready to get a cold drink somewhere, but quicky jumped back on with the boat driver when I saw that the sun would besetting  just behind the volcano over the water. I have never had a more with while boat ride... It was so peaceful being on the boat alone and seeing the sun light up the sky. Worth every second and a great cap to my first week.

The next Tuesday we were randomly granted the day off so my fellow volunteer Jack and I decided to get another volcano under our belts. Volcan Mumbucho is right outside of Granada and is the volcano I was drooling over on out boat ride back from the isletas. Again, expecting a trail I was confronted my a road, but this time with a lot if slope. We heaved and sweated our way up there while stopping to sit on the road and watch some monkeys tree jumping (one sitting above me just decided to jump before peeing- at least monkeys are considerate that way). Once we got to the top we decided to take the trail that didn't lead us to the crator. We were told that is was closed and that we should have a guide, but didn't see any signs so decided to go for it. The walk was like walking though Jurrasic Park with the howler monkeys and random abandoned buildings at the start. As we got further in we discoversed that the walk was in need of a lot of repairs with random stairs missing and a slippery dissent. It was wild and quite exilerating especially once we reached the end of the trail we discovered the rope closing the trail. Turns out we did the walk backwards- opps! No wonder we didn't see any signage. We then walked around the crator- again something that surely hid dinos. It was a perfect day off, but man alive the initial hike really wore out my legs. I hope hoping to rest them up for a week weekend as Isla Ometepe!

Pura Vida Mae

Pura Vida is the best way to sum up Costa Rica. Pura vida means pure life or super great, chill, and/or happy. It is what people respond when you ask how they are or when you just say hi.

Montezuma Sunrise

It has been great returning to Costa Rica. Costa Rica was the first country I traveled to outside of Canada and the US. I studied abroad here for a short month and was able to visit Guanacaste, Puerto Viejo, and Volcan Arenal for some beach, zip-line, and rafting adventures. Now finding myself here again is super comfortable and leaves me more doors open to see some of the things I missed the first time around.

I headed to Costa Rica (unknown to me) on their independence day. As soon as we walked across the bridge making the border crossing with Panama- yes we literally got to experience crossing the border by walking the bridge- we were greeted with song, dance, and parade sporting the Costa Rican flag. It was a great welcome back for my first time returning to a foreign country.To start off Costa Rica I ended up in a place I loved the first time around: Puerto Viejo. Puerto Viejo is a town with a lot of Jamaican influence on the Carribean coast of Costa Rica. Needless to say it is a great place to sit back and relax. Something I needed very much. So I rented a hammock for a few nights and was able to decompress. I spent the nights playing cards, sitting by a camp fire near the beach, and making dinner with people I met in the trip our in the giant room of hammocks. I spent the days getting out for a run and renting a bike to get some fresh air and listen to the awesome sounds of the birds and monkeys (I think) hiding in the trees. Just the refresher I needed before moving forward to San Jose.
I was fortunate enough to have a home base in San Jose. My mom's classrooms aide's cousin lives in San Jose with his family. He also happens to be the cousin of someone from my graduating class. Small world. The Convery family was kind enough to take me in and feed me some of the best food I have had on this trip. Keith's mother just moved down to Costa Rica and caught wind of my love for coconut so on my last day there we combined our language power to prepare a sweet shrimp and rice dish to be followed up by chocolate coconut bars. DELUXE! It was great to be integrated into this bilingual household. The highlight: helping the youngest son with his Spanish homework (which he speaks fluently...just a tid jealous) and had far too much fun for it to go unnoticed for me.

Keith and I solved the bus system to get me off for an early departure to Montezuma on Friday. My good friend Jackie studied abroad here for a year and spent a good chunk of her free time in Montezuma dancing so I knew it was the place for me with my intense desire to go dancing since I left the DR.

Montezuma is on the pacific peninsula of Costa Rica so to get there is a few buses and a beautiful ferry ride. On the ferry I knew I was headed to the right place thy were blasting Latin tunes and the garbage man kept us all entertained with his interpretive dance.

Upon getting to Montezuma I quickly met a quirky Danish girl who was ready to hike the waterfalls there. With a short break to drop my bag and get a passion fruit smoothie we were off. A group of is hiked along the river and weaved up and over trees to reach the first of three waterfalls. There we met a local Tico (term here for Costa Rican) who showed us how to get in under the falls and climb up a bit to sit and enjoy the spray- after my last experience I was a bit nervous of slipping and sliding, but he took good care of me. Since we befriended the Tico he decided to show is the way to the falls that were higher up. To get there we had to use a rope to stable part if a climb and again maneuvering around lots of tree roots and rocks. A total adventure! After getting there the Tico immediately ditched his backpack and took a jump of the fall. It seemed totally crazy to me because he jumped right through a bush! Yet, after seeing him do it I couldn't resist. So once everyone wasn't looking and he jumped off a part directly on the water fall I followed suit--44 feet later I made a splash. It was WILD! We were then able to see over the first fall and hide in the cave under this fall too. When I got to the top no one could believe that I did it- but were super impressed with my tenacity. The hike out was again complicated, but a great adventure. I was glad we had an experienced person to show is the way.

When we got back we grabbed dinner made a few rum and cokes and head out for the only bar in town. I had told everyone my main goal in Montezuma was to dance so they introduced me to a few of the locals who danced super well. I was utterly impressed by the Tico merengue skills. Merengue is a dance originally from the DR, but when they mix all their salsa turns and spins WOW! I have never had so much fun being thrown around a dance floor. Not to forget they played a good half hour of just bachata and with my excitement and evident love for it some started calling me bachatera. So perfect!

While dancing I met a Tico who lives in the states and was heading back soon so as a celebration he was going to Tortuga Island and could get me in for Tico prices. Needless to say they next day I was on my way to la Isla Tortuga not knowing anything about the tour. I was nothing but impressed for a tour free to me. We stopped at the island to let them prepare lunch while we got to snorkel around for an hour. The highlight... A massive blue star fish. After we headed to the island for some fresh fish and rice while my new friend struck up a deal to get some fresh oysters. We spent the afternoon eating and preparing the biggest oysters I had ever seen and the tiny lobsters that were doing some cleaning inside of it...totally fresh and still kicking as we bit/cut into it. Que Rico!! On the ride back I was excited to see hump back whales jumping around and giving us some "ooooohhhh ahhhhh" entertainment.

I spent that night dancing and talking in the street until I got sent back to my room by the storms that rainy season never fails to bring. Rain lasted the good chunk of the next day and allowed for a perfect movie night.

The next day I finally made it to explore the beaches around Monteverde and enjoy some local ceviche after a solid match of soccer with gringos and Ticos alike. It made me happy to play with men who didn't mind pushing you around. I left Montezuma beaming, doing nearly all of the things that give me that natural high. So many times that weekend I made sure to give thanks to how fortunate I was for that experience. 

My Costa Rica experience as far from over. I heard to Monteverde for the cloud forest. The bus ride here was longer than expected so I made sure to head to get on my feet the next day in the Santa Elena Reserve. I spent my first morning exploring through the clouds on my own and finding an exciting 14 new settings on my camera and lots of colorful flowers. Uh oh! In a nerd moment I was likening waking through the cloud forest to swimming in the SAV of the Chesapeake because of all the biodiversity that lives there. Any who,

my timing was  great, I found the lookout tower to climb and enjoy the sandwich I packed myself to dine with a clear view of Volcan Arenal- which was cloudy on my last visit.   Lindisimo! The afternoon I returned to my room to find I had a roommate-the first one after five days of sleeping alone in a dorm (one benefit of traveling in low season), but I was lucky because he was off to a great adventure. In the forest near town is a tree that was hollowed out by another tree that you are able to climb in the middle of. The locals we met there called it Fincus Extrangulador- or Strangler. It was a super neat experience literally being IN a tree to pop out the top of it.

My last day in Costa Rica was spent doing what those who come to Monteverde come to do: zip-line. Having already done a canopy tour in Costa Rica I was hesitant to come out here for it, but man was it worth it! I signed up for a tour that included 13 lines, a repel, and a Tarzan swing. After working at EHOS I thought I was totally prepared, but this way way more exiting than what we have on the Eastern Shore. With this zip-line you are in control of stopping yourself and the view is absolutely breathtaking. The tour takes you through some shorter lines and on some that you ride double with a friend (I found a group of Spanish girls to tag along with.) The last of the lines is 1 km long and you ride it superman style with all parts of your body attached to the line and your arms outstretched airplane style. This was breathtaking going over the valley as the clouds set in, the scariest part was not knowing how we were stopping at the end. The pictures of my face at the end are priceless. Yet, I have to say the best part was the Tarzan swing. Since I decided to stick with the Spanish speakers for the tour I ended up at the end of the line. While they were hooking me in the told me to turn around, so naturally I obliged only to be tossed off facing backwards with the most authentic scream I have ever produced. It was so much fun and such a thrill to be added to something already full of adrenaline rushes. Overall worth it and something anyone who makes the bumpy ride to Monteverde shouldn't think twice about doing.

After the tour I decided to get a good cup of coffee and some high quality chocolate to relax for the afternoon. The tour guaranteeing me the same wasn't worth the extra $25 dollars I would pay- but the chocolate was totally worth the food splurge.
I am off to Nicaragua in the early morning for a volunteer project after climbing the hill to the office three times to bus ticket. I am excited to be working with some Spanish speaking kids in a school setting and testing out how that shoe fits for me.

Before I can log off I must give a big thanks to Jackie. Upon getting here I was hammering her with questions about what I should do, how I should do it, and how to get there. Jackie's second home is here in Costa Rica and she really knows a lot about it. Ever since I starting traveling Jackie has been there to answer all questions and give some of the best advice I have ever received. Because of her talent and experience with travel she has started a website and just got a book published. If you are interested in learning how to travel on a budget and live it up while abroad you should totally check it out! There is a link on the middle right side of my blog about The Budget-Minded Traveler and how to buy it (right about the photos you should check out.) Don't miss this chance-believe me I wouldn't be able to do all my travels without having this guardian angel and reference at my finger tips. In supporting Jackie you would be supporting me as well, as I am an affiliate of her budget-minded travels and can benefit from your purchase as well. Thanks Jackie for always being there for me!
PURA VIDA!

Pondering Panama

I traveled to Panama with a few things in mind and quickly everything changed for me there.In making plans to go to Panama with AB back in March we were dead set on teaching English. Since then AB spent her summer on Europe and I spent my summer in the Dominican Republic. Each of us in that time decided we wanted to achieve different goals in the next few months than thought previously. For me, after being in Santo Domingo and completely immersed in the Spanish language I realized how important it is to me to continue improving my Spanish. Something, shown my my experience in Guate, that can be very slow if you are required to speak English during the whole working day. So we decided to dabble in the world of vacation and work away...
On landing in Panama AB's dad, Dale, joined us for a week of vacation and touring. With him we found a friendly, and now much richer, cab driver who toured us around the city. I acted translator while he showed us all the hot spots for Canal history. He took us to see the Maraflores locks on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal. It turns out we were really fortunate for our timing; we got to see a handful of boats cross and the gates open and close for the water to rise. We later found out from our work away experience that the boats only cross at certain hours of the day so timing is fairly critical (not exactly what our hotel or our taxi driver told us, so that fact with a grain of salt). After the famous locks we made our way to Cerro Ancon which has an extraordinary view of the quick growth the Panama Canal created as well as the Panamanian flag where once stood the American flag. It was in this moment that all of us realized we were ready to leave the city. Sky scrapers can be beautiful, but the water and hills behind were far too tempting. In our day's adventures we also managed to visit a hight way constructed from the earth removed to make the canal and stop for local cevichel. No matter what Lima, Peru says I say the ceviche up here is way better. Even though AB's dad didn't like how it "grew in your mouth" he came to like it by the end of his stay.
We spent one day more day in the city getting some souvenirs for Dale to take home, enjoy the pool our hotel had, and eat some Dominican food (yes, con con) and sushi. Something we did learn (or Dale did) even though your taxi driver is nice and helpful don't invite him to join you at your hotel pool-because he will.  But more importantly we saw and experienced how such quick growth and clash of culture could change a place. All of us found that the city had quickly sprouted up with little consideration for environmental and health impact resulting in icky water everywhere. We were also able to see the huge income gap. Panama has a 30% unemployment rate, but all the cars we rode in were 2013 with the plastic still on the seat. I also found it one of the least Latin minded places I have been. People were very business and money oriented, they were less likely to greet you on the street with a kind hello than most places I have visited in the US. I even experienced my own kind of culture shock being in a nice hotel and in a city that was what I expected, but so far from what I expected at the same time. That wasn't what I was expecting going from one side of the Caribbean to the other, but it was still good to see.From the city we headed to Isla Toboga. An island off the pacific coast of Panama with a view of all the ships looking to cross with the buildings making up the skyline. Super representative of Panama in as of itself. On Toboga we stayed in a hotel with the dining room hanging over the rocks that became good areas to snorkel at high tide. Although the accommodations and service was less than extraordinary it was super nice to be able to see some colorful fish right off of the hotels steps. We experienced a lot of rain while staying on the island. That didn't stop us from seeing the second oldest church in Central America, hiking to a cross on a hill (with three stories as to why and  how it got there), spending a good chunk of time at the beach, and talking a boat around the eight mile circumference of the island.  It refreshed me to get some slope under my shoes, it excited AB to some snorkeling in, and Dale was thrilled to get a chance to try and catch a barracuda. When vacation came to a close we headed back to the city to take Dale to the airport and to be picked up by our work away job we had set up before arriving.
From the get go it looked like a pretty sweet gig. We would be selling tours and first had to take a few o the tours in order to know the material. We started off by visiting Casco Viejo. The old town of Panama City with churches and monuments to honor the French and specific individuals for starting the Panama Canal. We stayed that night in the city at a hostel paid for by out work away dude, Manuel, and headed to the area we would be working the next morning. The afternoon was spent with Manuel and his little girls visiting the Anton Vally where we saw a few waterfalls, a zoo with animals in far too small cages, and a petroglyph with a fabricated history of the Anton Valle explained by a local boy.Although I wouldn't have chosen the tour myself and we spent most of the time in the car it was a nice intro to a new place. The day we visited the beaches we were going to sell the tours at. Since all the beaches in Panama are public we walked the water line of some big all-inclusive resorts. This time of year there are never many people so we were really pulling to even talk to people who weren't just visiting from the city. The afternoon was spent in a long car ride to see a pretty awesome waterfall. There was a small hike in and we were able to swim and explore a bit. This was wild! We climbed along the rocks below the actual falling water and I was blown away by the pressure. I am pretty sure I got everything I missed out of my last month of bucket showers in a mere few seconds. Upon getting down from the fall I so gracefully slipped and bruised my tailbone-which proved to be an issue the next day. Although all the small experiences we had seeing the bits and pieces of tours were fun AB and I had a hard time with the big picture. We spent most of the day in the car and if we weren't in the car we were waiting hours (literally) for Manuel to get started or we ere getting back late and not able to leave the fenced house if needed. Beyond that we weren't excited about interrupting the handful of people as they were sleeping and relaxing on the beach. So the next day when AB and I were allowed to hit the beach alone we talked about shortening our stay. By the time we reached the end of the beach after getting a lot of "we are leaving today's from customers" and "this isn't worth it for you girls you should travel" we decided to pack up that afternoon and make plans from there. Mind you, this is my birthday and Manuel is treating is to lunch when we break the news. He was clearly not happy with or decision because he had put a lot into our short visit, but his loss seemed minimal to how miserable and trapped we felt. That afternoon we packed our bags, AB moved her flight home, and I got overwhelmed with the pace of the decisions I would have to be making in the next few days.After having a good Thai birthday dinner to officially start my birthday (we decided it had a delay due to too many emotions and being somewhere where time is a much less strict concept) we were on an overnight bus to they archipelago of islands on the Caribbean known as Bocas del Torro  (extremely painful with a bruised tail bone). When we landed ( or floated for our final leg) we found that the main island, Isla Colon, was an environmental awareness festival which made it a little harder to find a hostel, but still doable. AB and I immediately dropped our bags and went to the nearest beach before walking the souvenir shops, fried food, stages, ad booths that made up the festival. We signed a petition raising awareness for the Panamanian government about the dolphins and turtles that are unique to this region and later that night enjoyed a beach side performance of some good ol' Latin times.
The next day I was thrilled to finally have the time and freedom to go for a run and then later go on about tour of the islands. We picked a tour with a mix of everything. Our first stop was to Dolphin Bay where I was captivated by the grace and serenity of their swimming. From there we headed to snorkel and explore at Coral Caye. We saw all sorts of colorful fish and AB picked up a sea cucumber for me to test out. It was totally what we were looking for. From there we headed to paradise... Literally this is what every person wishes they had when they go to a beach. Zapatilla Island is a national park so it is literally untouched white sand beaches with crystal clear lukewarm water. We got to explore and circle the island for two hours. In that time we found another awesome reef with schools of fish, map-like coral, and loads of sea enchants. From Zaptilla we had a break for lunch which we opted out of to save room for sushi and headed (unsuccessfully) to spot sloths. You'd think they'd be able to find them doing these tours everyday seeing how their name is Spanish translates to lazy bear, but that's ok. Our final stop was a place called Hollywood. At Hollywood there are an uncountable number of Star Fish... Another first sighting for me. Super neat! From our tour we made great timing for half off Sushi, got my phone back working since I would now be solo, a packed up to split ways in the morning. AB headed home and I made my way to Costa Rica.

Although Panama wasn't what we expected and I probably won't go back, unless I get a guaranteed sighting of a Quetzal, we learned a lot... Mostly (as always) about ourselves. After getting some time to sort things out I am excited about what is coming next for me. Although  I haven't picked exactly what yet I have a few options and plans that all seem like great fits for me, my interests, and my future goals.

DR: Touring turistas

Through the eyes of a tourist in the Dominican Republic... Touring the DR on the tourist belt was really interesting for me to see. The areas that we went were packed full of people vacationing in the DR for a week or few and those people from Europe who decided to up and leave home to start a hotel or tourist agency of sorts. Needless to say I was blown away with how different the overall feeling of this part of the island was in comparison to Sabana Perdida and those areas we visited with our participants.
We started off our trip on the Zona Colonial. This is a part of Santo Domingo that I have spent a lot of time in on days off or with the kids. It is a hot spot for those who get off the cruise ships to get a peek at colonial life of the Dominican Republic. The streets are lined with your typical tourist gear and paintings while all around town are ruins and old churches in which they now hold a number of dance nights or wedding photography. Alec really enjoyed getting to walk around the ruins and getting bits of the history behind everything that lines the little sector or Santo Domingo.
From Santo Domingo we headed north, bypassing the mountains because of the rain that tends to get stuck there. I decided this because of a past day off when I had my hopes set high to hike Manabao with a friend of Alberto and it poured all morning and stayed sunny with intermittent down pours through the rest of the weekend,  I wasn't ready for heart break again. Thus, we trekked north to the beach town of Sosua which huge draw is snorkeling and, forgotten by me at the time, the ladies of the night. We scored big with our hostel, which I picked merely because if its name: Coco Hotel. What we didn't know was it had private beach access that led to an uninhabited beach where all the scuba instructors bring their groups to dive.  So after getting setting out to get Alec a taste of some Dominican food and waking up in the morning only to find four "ladies of the night" in their short dresses prancing out of the hotel we decided it was a good idea to hide away on our easy beach access. While we were out there we enjoyed the clarity of the water, buoyancy,  and got to use my snorkel gear to follow the scuba boats marking the reef so we could see massive schools of bright fish I couldn't even start to identify. This was pretty wild and super lucky- I felt like we were part of some secret club. Despite or awesome location we decided to head over to the next beach town, Cabarete. Sosua during the day was only filled with old men sitting at the bar around noon with a pretty obvious objective for their evening.We found a much better fit for our company at the surf hostel we found in Cabarete. This town has a huge draw for kite surfers and surfers alone. Meaning the energy level and thrill for new things with palpable through the air. Although we didn't surf or kite surf during our stay, we enjoyed walking the beach with the sky painted with eating at our hostel (which apparently had the best dinner in town), and experiencing the night life that also is part of Cabarete's claim to fame. It was wild to me seeing so many restaurants and tourist agencies run my retired Europeans and experiencing the night life felt like I had landed myself back in the states. Bachata and merengue could only be found at one discoteca and only for the start of the night. It was definitely the tourists lens of the DR. I had a small debate with a guy from Spain that the DR was loosing its culture because of all the tourists. Which it was easy to agree with in the north, but I could not make him believe how different life was in Santo Domingo. I suppose the longer the tourists don't try to see outside of the Zona Colonial the longer I will be right about that.
Upon leaving Cabarete we booked a trip to see the 27 waterfalls in Puerto Plata and visit a Dominican farm, taste some good coffee, see how Domican cigars are made and taste, and of course go up and down the first 7 of the 27 waterfalls. I finally got some great use out of my waterproof camera- which was enjoyed by everyone in out tour group.
After this trip Alec and I headed back to Santo Domingo. We stayed the night in the Zona Colonial and took off in the morning to Elio Franco. It was really important to me for him to see the DR I know and love and not that that was described by the Spaniard. We toured the neighborhood  and visited some of the kids and friends before sending Alec off to the airport.
Being unemployed with nothing to do in Elio Franco turned out to be just what I needed to top off this summer. My friend Yeiron's family was so great to me. His Grandma is a great cook and his brother is a riot. I had lots of fun with him and their neighbor Yessl washing clothes/having a nice impromptu bath, making all sorts of jugo, batidas, and OH! and ending up on a national TV program promoting a new Dominican Artist (I ended up being a kind of back up dancer with Yessl and her family that was there. As a thank you to Yessl's mom helped me make dulce de coco for people in the neighborhood and to send to my parents as a recruero (sorry Mom an Dad... We didn't have a fridge so it may not make it.) It was also great to spend some time with our director Alberto and the family when he wasn't crunching numbers for Visions. He even got up at 3 this morning to give me a hug goodbye which made my day :)Don't you worry I didn't leave without a lot of Bachata. A neighbor had a birthday party this weekend and Bachata dominated the radio... Along with some to retry intensive dembo dancing. They just didn't want to hear no when I wouldn't dance with them.
Now I find myself landed in Panama with another tourist lense, but extremely thankful and grateful for everything at happened in DR and the perspective it has given me.

Ya tu sabes Coconaaaa me entiendo mano

As my summer with VISIONS Service Adventures comes to a close it is hard to recap the whole experience. The programs came and went in a flash, but not without totally experiencing this country and learning more about my strengths and weaknesses than I thought possible in such a short period of time. VISIONS of the DR truely has a community built behind it that makes the experience extremely enriching for both the participants and the staff. I am greeted every morning by a hug and a kiss on the cheek from out neighbor/father of our director/maestro at the work site, I can´t leave the house without hearing my name or my new adopted nickmame ¨Coco naaaaaaa,¨and the kids and staff are constanly sought out by the neighborhood kids and friends.

The Dominican Republic where:

:Sleeping and sweating is a way of life. For those who didn't know... It's HOT here and some nights with no power (thus no fan) left me in a lovely bath of my own sweat.
:Banter is the only way to have a real converstaion with someone. Dominicans have a lovely way of conflict resolution that only ends with smiles and laughter and everyone feeling stronger after a bit of verbal abuse.
:Music and dance IS the culture.
:Checkers is an itensely competative game.
:You have to proove your way as a woman..Machismo dominates. Many times I had to fight off neighborhood boys to tote things around. 
:Fresh fruit juice costs about $0.50 AND they reconize me at the window.
:Coconuts are everywhere! Trees, beaches with straws, cookies, and rice.
:I have adopted the name Coconut because of my obsession with coconuts and coconut water or anything coconut flavored. Coco naaaaaaaaa is something I respond to faster than my own name. 
:A brunette is concidered a blonde. After many debates with a coworker I convinced him to call me morena instead of rubia.
:Rice cooked with Con Con at the bottom by far surpasses any other rice I have ever tasted. For those of who haven´t tried it they let the rice sit and a lot of it cooks to the bottom. This makes a hard and flavorful rice which they call ¨con con.¨ I have been told that I will be remembered as the Coco girl-Coco, con con, and Cocacola.
:The locals have a hard time drinking anything but cold water.
:Bachata and Merengue music can be heard and danced to on every street corner. Bachata is easily my new favorite dance, it has so much feeling behind it and is just plain old fun!
:People are more than willing to lend a helping hand at the drop of a hat than any other type culture I have confronted.
:It is not everywhere that you get escorted to the dentist by their son and treated with family homemade juice while waiting.
:Last minute decissions to go out dancing or to travel to the North Coast are unbeatable. Especially when you pull up to the beach at sunrise.

:Outdoor Salsa festivals happen every Sunday. Their is so much spirit and pride behind the celebration that it just hooks you to the Dominican culture right then and there.
:Living, working, and playing with the same people everyday really builds a tight and understanding community.

:The locals serve Coca-Cola for guests... No matter what hour of the day. Numerous mornings I was visits people and they sent people to the store to buy a good ol' Coke to share with me and my buddies.

:If you run... You run to win. I have had numerous people extremely confused my my love for running and fun dress up races, yet my lack of metals to show for it.  

:Bucket flushes and bucket showers are your best bet for maintaining a clean toilet bowl and body.

:Street light, thus power, in houses comes and goes on and off on an hourly. 

:Plantains and or yucca accompany most every authentic food. The average family of five can survive on about $7.50 USD a day.
 

As I wrap up VISIONS and head for vacation in this country. I am more than thankful for a real peak into the Dominican world... Now off to see how the tourist see it!

Un chin chin... Dominican Republic

After looking forward to this trip/job for months it hasn't let me down yet. For those of you who don't know I am working for a program called VISIONS Service Adventures. The company itself has handfuls of different sites around the world for teens to sign up for and volunteer with the locals. It is something I would have done in a hearbeat as a kid and now I am getting paid to be here.

The trip itself started with a weekend adventure to Boston and training the Conniticut for six of our sites. Although training was a challenge for me, sitting the WHOLE day learning the things I know will come in handy, it was great to connect with people who have very similar stories and even more similar interests. Hearing all the cool things people have been doing really got me thinking ahout other future opportunites.With that said it sounded like one of the jobs that those people returning enjoyed most and found most rewarding was VISIONS. The photo blew is all of us before boarding our flights or taking a few days if rest bride it all gets started.

Upon departure I knew someting was different. I exeperienced the luxery and strange feeling of traveling  with people. I met a few of my new coworkers, Sarah and Chris, at training in CT and we took off together for the DR for  our first week consisting of set up and preparation. Having training so spaced out made us all a llittle anxious to get there. We flew late at night and were greeted by our director Alberto, our carpenter Santos (Alberto's father), and our support staff Juan de Dios. At first I was a little antsy, I haven't spoken Spanish since I left Guatemala almost a year ago and many people we met at training are extremely fluent. But that aniety went away when they brought out the fresh pineapple, banana, and melons. Something about fresh fuit can really make you feel at home. Furthermore the fact that I was understanding the conversations we were having quickly killed the anxiety I was having on the plane surrounded by a whole new accent and a whole new vocabulary... Even as a write this I am trying to write in Spanglish.

Our first day in the Dominican started off slow and relaxed. We were greeted with fresh fruit and eggs while sitting outside in our new neighborhood. As we layed out plans for the week Alberto really helped us to understand the importance of VISIONS in the specific community and how it fits into their current political system. We then set out for a day of touring our new house and walking to the local market to get what we needed to make some progress the first day. After returning we were greeted by part of a big and amazing community that has been by our side ever since. There are a number of Dominican boys/men who do whatever they can to help us and the mission of VISIONS. They spent a good two hours perfecting our welcome sign for the participants and have spent many hours since moving stuff into our houses, helping with meals and overall clean up,and most importantly adding a lot of Dominican flavor and volume to everything we do. 

The people of the DR are different than the other Latin Americans that I have met in my travels. They still have the open arms and positive attitudes that I confronted in both Peru and Guatemala, but they add a big BANG to it all. By far Dominicans are the loudest, most disruptive, and easiest people to make laugh. There is never just a simple distribution of duties. It must be done with a lot if talking over one another, a lot of jokes about this and that, and loud music in the background. I say this is the most positive way because it is extremly energizing to see how everyone in the community- literally everyone- can communicate with such expression and passion and still get everything done much more creatively than any American (even my Echo Hillians) could think of.

What has been best about this first week is truly learning about the country and creating the experience for ourselves. We had a chance to relax on the beach Boca Chica for an afternoon and we have hardly eaten anything that wasn't truly Doninican in some way. With that we have really learned the bonds and divisions that exist in this country and how we are going to be playing a big part in a story much bigger than ourselves or our participants. The Dominican has a number of national problems one of witch is poverty, felt the most by the Batey communities. Bateys are Haitian immigrants who don't have citizenship in Haiti or the Dominican Republic. The Dominican constitution specifically says that all people born in the Dominican Republic are automatically Dominicans- exept for Haitans. This keeps them in a no mans zone that really increases their suffering. Now to understand why we have to go back to the 1800s in the 1840s the Dominican gained its independence for Haiti. Since then the history books have painted in Haitians as evil people. Not only that, but the Hiatians speak French, they practice Vudoo, they have different food; they are a totally different people on one island. The last thing that creates tension between the Haitan, Batey, and Dominican communities is similar to the US Immigration debate. The Haitians will come in and work here for less- theoretically taking those jobs away from the Dominicans. With all these pieces set you can see how much of a cultural rift we are seeing, and how much suffering has and does occur on a daily basis. VISIONS side by side with many other organizations that Alberto either directs or facilities have in mind sustainable solutions to hit the problem where it starts. They are investing in developing a community focused on the eduction of the children-starting in preschool. They have motivation to build schools, provide scholarships and create a productive community in which everyone can prosper. Being a part of something that has a future and a future in the people it is helping is truely a relief and a sense of accomplishment for me. I normally have conflict with volunteer and aid normally because it creates dependency, but we will, and have, put the power on the hands of those directly impacted by the community's success and be able to create a system they can prosper in under their own control. Out projects this year will be a summer camp, English classes, finishing a community center, and constructing a community garden to top off the school VISIONS started five years ago in the pueblo San Luis. 

As the last member of our team comes today we are nearly ready for participants. It will be interesting to see what sort of kids come our way and how that will impact the dynamic we have created here. But here is to what looks like a rewarding as successful summer!!