Mombacho!

Today I traveled by myself for the first time since I first arrived in Nicaragua. I think that traveling in Nicaragua now is much easier. I feel like I know the routes the people I will most likely encounter on the busses and the people I will find after I leave the bus. I have discovered that the people in Nicaragua are not out to hurt me. And especially not the people I will find outside of the major tourist attractions. It also helps that I speak better Spanish now and can communicate what I need better.

So my trip started at 1030 in the morning. I left a little earlier than I had originally planned just to make sure I got to Mombacho at 1pm. I make my way to the bus lot and as I step into the lot, like I thought would happen one of the bus conductors asked where I was going and directed me to the correct bus. I ended up in a bus to Rivas and of course, like all the busses that leave from Granada, this one was packed. It was packed when I first got in it and 45 minutes after I got in it and we left the station it was even more packed. I felt like a sticky, hot, sweaty, and smelly sardine. But the bus conductor was very helpful and made sure that I stayed at the front of the bus so that I could leave easily as my stop was one of the first ones. And when my stop came everyone made sure that I got off.

When I got off at my stop I fully intended to walk my way up to the ranger station but a mini moto taxi zoomed over to me and said he could take me to the top for 20 cordoba and I agreed. At the ranger station I learned that it was 15 dollars to get a ride to the top. A steep price, but I was willing and figured that the money most likely went to a good cause. So I shelled out my 15 dollars and asked when the transport would leave. I was told 20 minutes so I started on my way to the marisposary or butterfly nursery, but before I could even start over there I was called back to the station and told that I was going to be taking not the regular transport but a truck up to the top of the mountain. I was told to hop in the back of the truck with a bunch of other guys, after jumping in the back one of the guys from the inside offered me his seat which I graciously accepted. My guide book said that the accent was a steep one but it was more steep than I thought it would be. And a little scary to ascend, I couldn’t imagine what the decent would look like.

When I finally got up to the station at the top of the mountain I went inside to see what was going on. All the clearly tourist inside the station were eating lunch. As I wandered through the station I was looking at what everyone was wearing, I felt out of place and a little stupid. Everyone was wearing hiking gear, tough shoes, long pants, had backpacks and everything.  I was wearing flip flops, shorts and a cami, with my bright red satchel bag. Anyone that has ever hiked with me will know that this is not like me. The book had said that the trails were well marked and quite easy, and I figured they were made for tourists. I was a little wrong. The trails were very wet and slippery. And to my chagrin, I have to admit that I did slipp once. But the rest of the way was quite easy.   

The first area the trail brings you to is this overlook of the crater. The view from that point was soo amazing! I could see all of Granada, the isletas the crater, the whole lake and the land beyond the lake. It was amazing. I took a bunch of pictures and felt really crumby about not being able to share with anyone how I really felt at that moment about this experience. It dawned on me that I could take a video with my camera so I did; my first video in Nicaragua.

So I continue down the path around the crater. I can believe the amount of vegetation that I around me on the trees. I seriously think that there was more plan life in the trees than on the ground. Each tree had moss all over it, different plants growing on bugs and birds and reptiles of all sorts were all above me in the trees. They say that there are mountain lion or puma on the mountain as well and every once and I while I thought I could see some movement out of the corner of my eye, but I am pretty sure that was just my imagination getting the better of me as I walked through the woods alone. 

As I was walking through the woods I was taking a picture of everything I could think of, everything was just so amazing and green and alive. I eventually got to a tunnel at walked through that of course taking pictures and as I get the end of the tunnel, my camera dies. I was super bummed and pretty much figured that the video I had made ate up all of my battery life. I felt at least that I had taken the picture of the best view and a picture of me on the mountain, the rest was just interesting things. But near the end of the trail there is an even better overlook where you can see on a clear day, and this was a clear day, all the way to the volcanoes near Leon. I could see everything. At this point I felt really bad about not having my camera. But so I could remember the scene I just sat and watched and looked. The view was really stunning. I finished off my lunch at that spot a bunch of bananas Gloria had given me. And just to see if my camera would work one last time I took it out and turned it on. To my amazement it turned on. I was able to snap two more pictures before the battery died.

There was not much left to the hike after than point. Just another hill and I was back to the ranger station. I went inside and asked when the next transport would be. I was told twenty minutes by one of the park rangers so I went outside to wait in the sun. I was sitting there for a little while watching everything happen around me.  Saw this Asian couple come out the trail and sit near me and then I saw this German couple come out and go into the station when they came out they went straight for the trucked parked next to the station jumped in an started off. The Asian couple sitting next to me jumped up and ran to the truck as they saw it starting off, the quickly spoke to the drive and jumped in the back for a ride down the mountain. After I saw that happen I thought to myself that I really should have jumped in as well.

I continued to just wait when this older woman came over to me and asked if I spoke English. I informed her that I did and she proceeded to ask me if I knew when the next transport was coming. I informed her of what I knew and then just started to talk to her. Her Name was Paula she was def in her late 50s, she was here for two months volunteering and completing her hours for her medical something or other master’s program. She also lives in Davis Ca and has two daughters who live together with their boyfriends in San Francisco. We talked for a good long time about the economy and social work and Nicaragua, learning and speaking Spanish and about how we would get down from the mountain. I had a really good time just talking to this woman. I guess I have not really been able to have really intelligent conversation that I could really understand for some time now. And I just totally took advantage of it. but at the same time she had some really good ideas when it came to working on my Spanish. For instance she suggested that I find a English as a second language program and find someone to do an exchange with. This Paula said that she did it for a little while, speaking half in Spanish and half and English, she said it really helped her out and they always had something to talk about.  She also suggested that I read some youth fiction by Spanish writers such as “house on mango st” and “return to sender”.

After we spoke for some time a truck came to pick us up and we all piled in. one guy had to wait behind because he would not fit. It was really sad because he had a whole bunch of people in his group that could fit on the truck, just not him. But I got a seat on the back of the truck sitting on the railing and holding onto the top. It was so much fun going down the mountain on the back of the truck. At one point I did think that if the truck were to flip over I would surly die, but that was only a fleeting thought and my mind when back to how cool the trip was looking out over the view and the steep inclines this truck was miraculously flying over.

From the bottom ranger station we all walked, only about a mile. And when we got to the bottom we waited in the hot sun for our respected buses. Mine came relatively quickly and I had to quickly say my goodbyes to Paula.

I find it just amazing how easy it is to pick up conversations with complete strangers and then just to eave again more likely never to see each other again.

After I got on my bus and paid my way I felt really good. I felt good about my ability to travel around Nicaragua unscathed, I felt good about this country, I felt good about my conversation, and I just had an all-around good feeling. I even felt that I could seriously stay in this country for a long time.

I got back to the house and informed the host mom that I had a great time. And that I was going to be going out again to go the café. I asked her what time dinner was and was told about 6. So I was at the café for a while looking at my email, sending a couple of messages, looking up some information for the rest of the week, and had a conversation with Hannah. At six I paid for my food and when back to the house. For the first time since I had arrived in Granada the family was not there. They had the door closed and the windows closed I knocked at the door for a little while and waited but no one was there and it looked like no one was going to be coming either. So I packed up my things and went back to the center park to one of the kiosks to order myself some vigiron.

When I got to the spot the owners of the kiosk were a little all over the place I was given a menu but not told were to sit and when I finally wanted to order no one came to take it. I had to go up to the window and ask for what I wanted. There was this older man that has just sat down near the kiosk and after I ordered he signaled for me to come and speak to him. Being nervous about the last time I sat down with a strange man I hesitated. But this guy was really old and probably just wanted to talk and be friendly. Which in the end is exactly what is all that he wanted.

And boy did we talk. We talked for a good 2 and a half hours about everything under the sun, family, politics, economy, religion, being gay (he was not gay), family, everything under the sun. And never was it awkward. Finally he signaled that he wanted to pay and get out of there so I took his cue. We paid and left and going through the park to leave he followed me just because he was going in the same direction. It’s always a little awkward leaving a place and saying good bye and then walking in the same direction. But he stopped to buy something at one point and I kept walking and at that point we said chow. I felt bad because he clearly remembered my name; I cannot for the life of me remember his, Jeff or frank or something like that; but clearly a very kind, friendly, traveling, and very worldly Canadian. I enjoyed my dinner and was glad that my host family had not been at the house this last evening.