Palabra Sube

With 3 hot sweaty days on buses we arrived in Nicaragua´s capital Managua, picking up a surfer along the way. After an awkward moment of trying to explain to the hostel owner that we werent after a menage a trois we bedded down for the night and headed straight for Leon.

Leon is the liberal city of revolutionaries, and has a church on every street corner. Every night, without fail, we watched lightning over the top of the largest cathedral in central america, this was quickly followed by the heaviest rainstorms causing the streets to become rapids. Being the cultural types we also decided it would be a good idea to tobogan down the side of a volcano. We set off in a pickup and were dropped at the foot of Sierra Negra, a black sand volcano. After an hour of hiking up with our trusty sledges, it quickly dawned on us what the hell we had signed up for. We were gonna be doing the same slope that a famous montain biker had broken the land speed record on, and subsequently every bone in his body. Being the Gentleman, Rob let Lou go first, and with her last words being "iv changed my mind", Lou was promtly pushed off the edge. Rob followed managing a spectacular fall mid way, incuring bruised ribs and the sweet taste of rock! Looking like coal miners escaping from Guantanamo bay, we returned for celebratory Mojitos for job well done. Another cultural day was spent in the museams of Legends and myths, where we enjoyed ourselves imitating life size paper mache manaquins, depicting local ghost stories.

Next City was Granada where we signed up for a month of volunteering in rural primary schools. Rob was assigned to "The jungle" school of Las Camillias and taught art and PE. Pe proved the most challenging as games of kick ball were often interupted by herds of bulls, or kids throwing rocks at each others heads while scaleing 20 ft barbed wire fences. Meanwhile Lou caught the chicken bus every morning to La Epifania, where she had the apithany that she no longer wants to work with kids. On the first day we were welcomed by the other volunteers with a pot luck feast........and rum. Weve been staying with the awesome family of Alvero, Megan, and theír little bolo of enegia Ernesto. The house was amazing with Alvaro´s gallery at the entrance and we enjoyed joining in the family sing alongs aptly titled ¨living in a rainbow¨.

During our time off, we visited local sites outside of the city. On a lancha we visited the small islands Las isletas where we braved the inticingly brown water and watched tourists feeding monkeys on the neighbouring islands. In search of clearer water we headed for the volcanic lake of Apoyo. We were rewarded with crystal clear cool blue water and gratis rum from our ever enthusiastic, pink bandana wearing, new friend Louis. The highlight though has to be the canopy tour, which is basically zip lines 80ft up in the trees tops, and you throw yourself along to get a "better view" of nature. While it was great fun, louise´s trembling legs were happy to reach solid ground at the end. We also spent a day in the market town of Masaya, where we visited hammock workshops, and resisted buying a collection of stuffed reptiles each holding a bottle of rum. In the evening we watched a local folk festival with about 20 costume changes, and involved enthusiastic locals singing and dancing along. We watched from the back with fellow rythm impaired volunteers Arron and Tera, doing the only local tradiotion we have mastered.......rum

Now recovering from our 4th of July celebrations, us being the british were attacked with water pistols by the other volunteers, we leave tommorow for the beach town Of San Juan Del Sur. So with an increased apreciation for primary school teachers, and rum, we bid Granada farewell.

Hope all is well back home

Love Rob and Lou