¡Hola familias! Many apologies for the delay in updates. Free travel was a great experience for all of us as we chose what adventures to embark on, whether it was chilling by beautiful natural springs, or speeding down a volcano on a sled!
We started the week off with an extra day in León, three of us attending an extra day of Spanish school while the rest headed to the volcano Cerro Negro to volcano board. This “sport”, as we learned, was invented here in León about 10 years ago. It’s basically just sledding down one of the most active volcanoes in the world, on hot rocks and ash until you reach the bottom– hoping to have reached the top speed!
In the end, a few of us earned some rough scrapes and scratches, and there was no shortage of ash-laden wipeouts. However, we all made it out alive and were ready to travel on! Props to Benjamin and Robbie, who reached speeds of 75 and 73 km per hour.
After a quick stop at a huge market in a city called Masaya, we made it to Ometepe. Ometepe is an island in Lake Nicaragua made by two volcanoes, and had tons of activities for us to try out. We stayed in the small town of Altagracia, which was having a festival while we were there.
Our group split off on many different adventures, including a 9 hour hike up the active volcano Concepción. Many of us also spend a day at Ojos del Agua, a beautiful cool water spring on the island. It was a great way to soak up natural minerals and spend time relaxing and reading a book.
There was an abundance of exploring to do around the island via bike, walking, or horses, for the few of us who saddled up for a day. There was time spent at the beach, kayaking and seeing the forest canopy with zip lines.
We left Tuesday to continue on to Parque Maderas, where we are now. Hopefully some more updates on surfing, volunteering and Thanksgiving will come soon!
Miss you all!
Callie and Charlotte
