Nicaragua Part III: Granada

Now, finally the last leg of our tour of Nicaragua was to the city of Granada.  I was most excited about going to a place named after my beloved Granada.  It was a nice small city that used to fight for control of the country with León.  

Catedral de Granada

Paulina and I went a day earlier than the rest of the crew because we preferred to see more cultural sites than relaxing at a lagoon.  Our friend Michelle came along too because she wasn´t feeling well and needed to see a doctor.  

Once in Granada we settled in and took our own tour of the city.  We went to the Poets´ Park and the old train station, then we went off to explore the old hospital, the military fort that we couldn´t enter and the churches and other cultural parts of the city.  

Old Hospital

The following day we finished our tour and saw the last few sights we hadn´t seen the day before and then took a boat tour of the Isletas de Granada (small islands near Granada in the Lake of Nicaragua).  It was a fun hour long tour that included seeing isletas that had houses, bars and one isleta that was only inhabited by monkeys that a vet had brought there years before.  There were the white faced capuchín monkeys and spider monkeys.  When our tour ended we returned to the shore as the next group got on.  This group contained 2 strangers, one of my 6th graders, his brother in 2nd grade and their parents.

Isletas

After the boat tour we met up with the rest of the group, took an official tour of the city, had dinner and in the morning we returned to Monteverde!

Xateva and La Maria Churches

Nicaragua Part II: Laguna de Apoyo and Masaya

Laguna de Apoyo

The second leg of our trip was to the Laguna de Apoyo and Masaya.  The Laguna was a beautiful, quiet place to relax and swim.  I was glad to swim in a natural body of fresh water.  Since I grew up going to the Otsego Lake every weekend during the summers, I have always preferred natural bodies of water to pools and fresh water over salt water.  At the small resort we were able to relax because aside from us and a handful of other visitors at the same hotel there was no one within sight.  This meant we could take the kayaks and row around the laguna, swim and enjoy the sun and water.

Mercado de Masaya, Masaya Market

On our second day at the laguna we took a day trip to the town of Masaya where we went to the two biggest flea markets in Nicaragua (or so I´m told at least).  They had a lot of wood and leather products, but mostly touristy and rather kitsch-y.  But it was fun.  We also go to see the national baseball stadium, named for Roberto Clemente as he was on his way to bring aid to Nicaragua when his flight went down.  We learned that in Nicaragua, baseball is more popular than fútbol (soccer).  On the day trip we also went to a hammock factory where most of us bought hammocks.  Most of them cost 400 córdobas (about $20)!  We also got to try out nice swing hammocks that we call chairocks (chair and hammock, a word coined by our friend / 1st grader- Logan) that stretched out to be long enough that I could lay down and have the hammock wrap around my feet past the toes and still support my head!

We then went to a lookout on the other side of the Laguna de Apoyo and Laguna de Masaya, from which we could see the city of Granada, Nicaragua from a distance.  It was beautiful, and I am still waiting on the pictures from that I took with a friends camera.

Nicaragua Part I: León

On Saturday morning we took a journey to the Costa Rica - Nicaragua boarder, crossed the boarder on foot with our bags and took another van to León, Nicaragua.  León was beautiful.  It had most of the things I think every city should have, including kebabs!  

León is a beautiful despite all turmoil they have seen over the last few decades.  It was a lot of fun to walk around León because we could see a lot of their history in their statues and churches.

Cathedral in León

The cathedral was a lot of fun because there were a series a paintings depicting Jesus´ struggles, death and resurrection.  When we went on a city tour we got to go to the top of the cathedral, climb around and see the entire city.

View from our hike of volcanic ash and the lowlands between volcanoes

In and around León and the rest of Nicaragua there are over twenty volcanoes (and I thought Costa Rica had a lot!).  As a group we took a journey to one of the youngest volcanoes and went "volcano boarding" which is similar to sledding on a toboggan on volcanic ash instead of snow.  We went, along with some people from The Netherlands and Australia.  We took nearly an hour hike up the volcano, put on orange jumpsuits (but I got a blue one for some reason).  2 by 2 we took off and down we went.  It was fun, much faster that I felt I needed to go, and we got a lot of rocks thrown into our faces, but I would recommend it to anyone.  Below is a picture of someone from our group going down at about 30km/hr (18mph)

Beautiful Friday at School

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY AT THE  CREATIVA

After more than 2 weeks of almost non-stop rain here in Monteverde we finally got a sunny day again on Friday.  I had spent all afternoon Thursday making plans for something to do with the 5th and 6th grade classes for inside recess and inside PE class with very limited space, and we get up the hill and this is what we see!  The mountains of Costa Rica (from here we´re almost a mile high) straight to the the Gulf of Nicoya and the Nicoya Peninsula.  (If you look at a map of CR it´s the big peninsula on the Northwestern part).  It was a beautiful day and a pleasure to get to see our view once again.  So I went inside and started to get ready for the first part of the day... SCHOOL SING!  

School Sing is a tradition at the Cloud Forest School (yes, we call it the Cloud Forest School, but the Creativa in Spanish.  The name´s don´t translate, but it´s fun that way.  The legal names do translate and include both names, so don´t worry it´s not too confusing once you´re down here).  Every Friday morning the classes from Kinder ( 3, 4 and 5 year olds) all the way up to 6th grade get together to sing a few songs.  Usually we sing the school song and one class leads us in that and about 5 other songs.  This week was the 5th grade´s turn.  So that meant that my crazy kids who struggle with English more than some of the younger classes, who are all very stage shy got to sing the school song, The Littlest Worm, a song from the World Cup, Primavera (by Carlos Santana, which they signed the chorus to!) and The Duck Song (from youtube, thanks to my friend AnnA Monkey)  They were amazing and adorable.  I was very thrilled with their performance because we´ve come such a long way as far as behaviour and because I was the first of the new teachers to go.

Oh yeah, and we enlisted our friends in kinder to be the ducks in our duck song performance.  The lil ducklings are right here... 

So after school sing, I was thinking, we haven´t seen the sun in ages, the kids haven´t played outside in almost a week, let´s go on a hike!  What a muddy hike, since it had rained for weeks, but hey, we´re in Costa Rica, we practically live in the mud.  So the kids lead me (because I had never been there before) past the spring, up to the Monkey Palace.  We didn´t see any monkeys this time, but that didn´t stop us from acting like monkeys the entire trip!

The monkey palace is one of the students´ favourites places because it´s very difficult to climb up the side as you can (possibly) see below

Coming down is another story, it´s not just difficult it´s almost impossible.  The students have done it several times and failed to maintain control all the way down.  I on the other hand just sat in my urban surfing pose and slid down like you´re inching down a ski slope in your skis, but faster.  After this we went to snack, PE which was a fun game of 5th vs 6th grade kickball!  GO 5TH GRADE, WIN 5-4, (although I was hoping for a tie or a 6th grade win because my kids tend to be good about defeat).  Then the kids ran off to their Spanish class and we cleaned up, they went home for the weekend and I went to my staff meeting.

The weekend started off well with a beautiful morning for the feria, and then we went to play frisbee in the mud at the Friends (Quaker) school up the road.  As much fun as it was, I should have taken the day off because it set off a 102´F fever that made me stay home on Monday.  I went the the Dr who said I had a bad sinus infection, gave me meds and I got a shot at the pharmacy, my temp dropped below 93´F and somehow Tuesday it was more stable so I went to school, still not feeling great but went because today, Thursday was round 1 of the parent-teacher conferences (my first ever).  Part 2 is tomorrow and the first quarter will be done!  Then off to Nicaragua on Saturday for a week journey!

Montezuma

Peace and Love Costa Rican flag out in front of the hotel

View from the Hotel Luna Llena

In honor of Costa Rican Independence Day we got Friday September 17th off.  So, 14 of the teachers from the school took off to Montezuma for the weekend.  Six of us stayed at Luna Llena (Full Moon) which is owned by the mother of one of the 11th graders.  It was a beautiful weekend.  It didn´t really rain at all, which was a change from what we are used to in Monteverde, where it rains daily, and lately it has rained almost non-stop.  Some of the highlights of our trip was the animals we go to see.  I got some great pictures of the white faced monkeys when they came to visit us at our hotel.

White faced Monkey

We also were visited by an iguana who was sun bathing on the roof outside our hotel room one morning

Sunbathing

But, without a doubt the best part of the weekend was the hiking.  We found some rivers, springs and waterfalls that were absolutely beautiful.  One of the interns and I hiked up to a spring we had been told about.  It was a very fun hike up stream through a few small waterfalls and lots of rocks.  We hiked up and back without a problem.  Then we started to walk back along the beach towards our hotel when we ran into a couple of our co-workers.

The Montezuma Coast

We decided to show them where we went because we knew that they would enjoy it.  We hid our belongings under a bush by the beach and hiked back up.  Again we trekked through the terrain without problem.  Then however, when we came back as we reached the beach I fell.  Beverly, the 2nd grade teacher was apparently convinced that I had died, until I jumped back up and ran into the water to wash myself off.  The 3 of them wanted to take pictures because I bruised immediately and as they thought that "my kidney was going to jump out of my body," and handed me the box of wine to ease the pain.  I walked back, bought some bandages and had a friend bandage me up.  Then I laid down because I was feeling lightheaded and started to black out.  But once I had a few minutes rest I was better.

The following morning a group of us went hiking up to a waterfall.  It was beautiful.  There were several layers of waterfalls.  From the first one Steve (the 6th grade intern) and I jumped from some of the larger rocks and then went behind the waterfall.  We later climbed up higher to see another 2 levels of waterfalls.  We also ran into a group of german students we had met a few weeks earlier at the volcano.  All in all, it was a great weekend and I would repeat it even if I knew I´d fall and get hurt again.

September 15th and Semana Cívica

Traditional ox cart

La Semana Cívica or Civic week is a very important week in Costa Rica.  This week represents the patriotism and unity of this small socialist nation.  Before Semana Cívica my school celebrated for a week.  Each morning started with an all-school assembly where we each presented un acto cívico.  Un acto cívico includes the greeting of the national pabellón (flag with crest) and school flag.  Then the school sang a few patriotic anthems (El himno de Costa Rica, Himno a la bandera, Himno al 15 de septiembre, ¡Oh Costa Rica! and the Himno patriotica).  After a few of these songs were sung we then saw presentations by the students on the history of the flag, history of Costa Rica, National symbols and heritage.  

Then during the actual Semana Cívica on Tuesday the 14th at 6pm people gather in the town halls in each of the towns in Costa Rica to sing the national anthem.  In theory the entire country is singing at that moment.  It was really fun to be a part of this because most people in the staff learned the words to the various anthems from our month of practicing with the students.  Some of us even realized we know more Costa Rican songs than we do for the US!  (I commented on how I sing the Andalucian anthem and the Costa Rican anthem much more often than I would sing the Star Spangled Banner)

After the anthem was sung there was a parade of lanterns in honour of the light that was brought to announce their independence from Spain 189 years ago.  Every year a torch is run (much like the Olympic torch) through Central America to re-enact the independence from Spain.  Most of the students in town as well as some of the teachers made their own lanterns out of patriotic symbols and paraded them around the main triangle in downtown (also known as the only block downtown, but more on that at a later date)

Patriotic lantern for the Sept 14th parade

Then on the morning of Wednesday the 15th (Independence Day) the whole town (well, more or less) gathered back in the gymnasium to celebrate independence day.  We witnessed another Acto Cívico which included the presentation by our 1st,2nd and 11th graders.  It was a fun, bilingual presentation.   The village was also visited by a representative of the MEP (Ministry of Education) as well as a few other speakers from town.

Crowd for the Acto Cívico on September 15th

After the Acto Cívico on Wednesday there was a parade of school bands and bastoneras (baton twirlers) that took a large loop around most of the town.

Parade on September 15th.  Featuring students from the Creativa

A normal week in Monteverde...

I see beautiful plants like the Ave de Paraíso, Strangler Figs and many others whose names I don´t yet know

Birds of Paradise

I see lots of animals including birds (motmots, hummingbirds...) mammals (sloth, coati, my students) and lots of bugs, but mostly dragonflies, mosquitos and spiders.

A wolf spider on our kitchen cabinet

5th and 6th grade building and hummingbird garden

On a typical school week...Monday thru Thursday are normal school days for us, so we wake up around 6, get ready for school and hike up the hill to La Creativa by 730.  Classes start at 8 and the monkey children go home around 3 o´clock on the bus.  On Monday´s the beginners English and Spanish classes meet after school for teachers.  On Tuesday´s it´s the upper level class.  So Tuesday afternoon I convert back into a student!  Wednesday afternoon we have staff meetings and on Thursdays I teach a Sign Language class to my colleagues.  Fridays are an interesting day for us because the students go home at 1230 every Friday and usually we put celebrations on Friday.  We´ve already celebrated Family Day and Día del Niño y Joven.  But even on a normal Friday the students schedule is different.  We have a school sing presentation from one of the primary classes every Friday morning.  Then my students and I do a brief activity outside or for community building.  Then the kids have snack and PE with the 6th grade teacher and me.  PE so far this year has been the students´ choice between a hike with a teacher and ultimate frisbee.  Then the kids go to Spanish class and finally we do a community building activity with our 3-5 year old friends in the Kinder classroom.

5th and 6th grade building

One night a week is quickly becoming a staff yoga lessons at Rio Shanti, where 2 of my co-workers give massages.  On the weekends we have been hosting pot lucks a lot with my co-workers and a couple of the students.  

Saturdays though, are my favourite days of the week.  I sleep in and wake up around 7am.  Then when my roommates are awake we walk downtown to the Feria (Farmer´s market) and we buy most of our groceries.  After the farmers market we check out the 2 grocery stores for anything we´re missing and return home.  There is a yoga class at ten on Saturdays, but I have not been yet. And shortly after noon we go to play frisbee at the Friends School with people from the community.

Sundays are usually our days for hikes, relaxing, movies and planning the next week´s lesson plans.

Saturday Hike with my Creativa Familia

Un domingo más raro

El domingo pasado a las 4 de la madrugada me desperté porque había un sonido muy extraño en mi casa.  Yo pensé que era una tormenta fuertísima, pero era agua del cuarto baño que debe ir al water saliendo hasta el salón.  Así que yo la desperté a mi compañera de casa, Amy y ella al dueño que vive a lado.  Él le arregló y después fregamos y limpiamos hasta las 5 de la mañana y fuimos a dormir de nuevo.

Last Sunday at 4am I was awoken because there was a very strange sound in our house.  I thought it was a strong storm, but it turned out to be a plumbing problem.  The pipe that is supposed to feed water into the toilet was sending the water into the living room.  So I had to wake up my roommate Amy, who told me it´s not the first time this has happened.  She went and got the land lord who quickly fixed it and helped us sweep the water outside until 5am when we all returned to our beds.

A las 10 de la mañana salí con mi otra compañera, Paulina y fuimos a la Reserva Scientífica Monteverde y fue lindísima.  Saquemos unos fotos del sendero.  Y conocimos a unos españoles de las Canarías.

At 10am, my other roommate, Paulina, and I finally made it to the Monteverde Reserve after 4 weekends of trying and getting distracted by something else along the way.  We had an amazing time but both forgot our letters stating we live here  (and there for get in free instead of paying $15 each).  But they believed us when we mentioned the school by the local nickname and let us in for free!!!  It was beautiful.  Below are a few pictures from the Reserve.  For more pictures please visit my Picasa page.

MMMM. Costus, delicioso

Bromeliad

Spiderweb in the Reserve   Tela de araña en la reserva

Y por la noche jugamos scabble en español e ingles y bananagrams también con unos maestros de nuestra escuela.

That night we played Spanish scrabble, English story scrabble and Bananagrams with friends from work.

La comida tica

¡Me encanta la comida tica!  Espero añadir fotos de la comida tica cuando pueda.  Pero los mejors son...

Gallo pinto con plátanos

Arroz con pollo, guyabas, mamón chinos, plátanos con queso y por supuesto, el casado

I love Costa Rican food!

People who know me well will be surprised to find out that I made the Gallo pinto above as well as pancakes, brownies and cookies!


PS More fotos to come!

Fortuna and Arenal

Arenal and Lake Arenal

Termite nest

This past weekend I went on an excursion with a few of my friends to the town of Fortuna and the Arenal volcano.  We had a beautiful time although we had scorching heat the entire time.  As a group we took the jeep-boat-jeep route to get to Fortuna, the small town near the volcano.  The ride was bumpy for the first hour, because the first hour out of Monteverde is not paved.  Once we were in Fortuna we took a guided hike around the volcano and the guide pointed out plants and animals that were edible and could help for medicine.  He showed us how this one type of ants was a good remedy for arthritis and how termites were a good source of protein and tasted like carrots. 

We got to watch the volcano spew smoke and we heard some rocks roll down the mountainside.  On our way back down we went to a look out to watch the volcano for a little bit more, where our friend Jesse proposed to our other friend Tera.  So this will surely be a weekend they never forget!

Tastes like carrots

After the volcano we went to Baldi, which is a hot water spring resort.  It was very beautiful and the water was very relaxing.  They had a few bars that you could order from while swimming and just pull up to a bar stool.  They also had a few water slides and several artificial waterfalls.  We had a good time, but it kept us up past our bed time because our bus left there at 9pm.

The ants go marching 5 by 5...

On Sunday morning we took a hike around Fortuna and we got to see a lot of plants, a snake and some birds that seemed to be posing for us.  We also saw a line of cutter ants that was quite impressive.  Then we caught a bus and all relaxed on our way home so we could prepare for another week at La Creativa.

The humans go marching 1 by 1