2nd week in Nicaragua
Geplaatst op 06 mei 2018 om 21:26 uur
As some of you may know, the reason I am in Nicaragua is because I am currently doing a minor, called Global Health. Last week I had to write my first reflection for school purposes. After writing it and rereading it I thought; might as well post it online for more people to read, so I did. The reason I’m writing this now is because my teacher came back to me reminding me of the fact that this is an international minor and that I should not forget that even now, everything still has to be written in English in order to be graded sufficiently (oops…). So if anyone was wondering what the change of languages is about, well this is. If anything though, it just makes it possible for more people to read.
Another week in Nicaragua has passed, which means that I now have received my Spanish certificate. I can’t exactly say that I’m super pro in Spanish now, but when I ask people to speak slowly I can kind of figure it out. Those verbs are a thing though… Did you know that there are 14 tenses? It’s impossible! I think I’ll just write them all down and carry it with me in my back pocket, if my pocket is big enough…
This week started off with a visit to San Juan Oriente, which is a little place near Granada. A lot of the pottery that is being sold on the markets, is made here. We got some instructions and then it was time for us to give it a go. I made my own little vase and it did not look like the work of a two-year-old (not disappointed)! After, we went to Catarina, a place that has a nice view over Laguna de Apoyo. They had the most beautiful horses there, but not the way I’m used to seeing them. They were only being used for pictures with tourists, so they had to stand still in the sun all day with their heads pulled down. I kind of struggle with the different view on horses here. I guess when you grow up with them, learning about how sensitive they are, it’s strange to see it being so different here. Here they are nothing more than a creature that has the strength to pull an incredible amount of weight for a very long time. And as long as they don’t nearly collapse, they don’t need any food or water, so why waste the time right? They are incredibly skinny and so tired that when you leave them in the street they won’t move a leg. I try not to look them in the eye and just accept that this is a different culture that is just new to me.
On Tuesday I went to the market for the first time. It’s not a very big one but it is nice to walk through. It kind of feels like Bangkok with all the funky foods, the amount of people and the honking taxi’s trying to get through. I don’t know why but, on a market, that’s when I always specifically realise that I’m on the other side of the world.
Another visit that I made was to volcano Masaya. This is an active, but mellow volcano. Sometimes you can actually spot the lava. But during the day you’re often not that lucky (we weren’t). The smoke is quite impressive as well, so it wasn’t a dull trip. The smell of the smoke is really strange and after 20 minutes you have to leave because supposedly it’s not good for your health if you stay longer. I really want to go back there during the night to hopefully see the lava.
Yesterday we had quite the extreme day. We decided to climb all the way to the top of the Mombacho volcano. The only information we got is that it was a 2,5h walk to the top and that we could do a nice hike up there. So we did! We started a little early so it wouldn’t be so hot, but after half an hour we were soaking wet. The roads were so incredibly steep, that even the trucks with the people that weren’t walking (everybody except us) really struggled. As someone who doesn’t exercise on a weekly basis (or monthly for that matter, oops) this was quite the challenge. When the roads just kept coming and kept getting steeper to a point where it was easier to just use your hands besides your feet I really didn’t think I was going to make it. So when we made it to the top I was super relieved and proud of myself. After resting for a bit we did the 1h trail which was nice and less extreme than the way up. We had a great view up there because it is at a height of about 1400m. When going back down we hesitated for a second to just hop on a truck that could take us downhill. But we came this far, we were going to finish it. And downhill, I thought, isn’t very intensive. That’s where I was wrong, again. It’s not as active but man, I don’t think my legs have ever been shaking so much (I clearly skipped leg-day, a few hundred times). The way back took us about 1h15, I was super relieved when we got there. This might be the hardest thing I ever did, but I did it! We took the old yellow school bus back to Granada, which only costs 10 cordobas (1US$). We still went out for drinks last night, after the hike. But I was very happy to be in bed after!
This week has been another great week for me. I love discovering the country and I have only yet seen the tiniest part. Next weekend we might try to go a little further, to the coast. Tomorrow I start working at the school in Pantanal, the slum next to Granada. I’m curious to see what it will be like. Next week I’ll be writing about that a little more.
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