Another visit!

You guys must think, does Paul work there in Nicaragua or just roam around travelling Nicaragua like a vagabond? Well, a little of both I guess! Last week I had a great friend come visit me (we´ve been friends since we were 4 and I made sure to point that out to all Nicas, they were quite impressed...as am I!).

Anyways, this trip was a little more work and a little less vagabond then other visits I had. Partially due to my lack of vacation days and my friend´s flexibility, we did a weekend trip to Granada and then spent the week working/hanging out in Corinto. It was great because she got a great idea of what my life is like here (both work and play) and got to meet all the people important to me here. While in the area of Granada I got to go to one of the more beautiful places in Nicaragua that I still had never been too, the Mirador de Catarina. It overlooks a volcano crater lake (I had visited the lake part on my parent´s visit, but never been to the overlook), and as you can tell is very beautiful...



One day while we were in Corinto,we decided to do a little day trip to Leon (1.5 hour bus ride away, and my favorite city in Nicaragua). The biggest cathedral in Central America in in the central park there. Here is a pic from the top of the cathedral looking at another church in Leon and some volcanoes in the distance.


While in Granada, we visited Volcano Mombacho where you can go ziplining. They are long cords connected between trees and you hook yourself on and essentially glide through the trees. I had been ziplining once before, but this time they let us do some crazy stunts such as hanging upside down!

And going two at a time...


I like this pic that my friend took because it sort of captures my life here. I am always on a bike. My work is not stationary, it always takes me from the hospital, to someones house, to the mayors office, to a youth group meeting, etc. And my mode of transportation, and the mode of transportation of most people in Corinto, is by bike. My bike is rickety and old, but I love it (most of the time). Some of my friends here have lovingly nicknamed it my ¨Mercedes-Benz¨. I love the fact that I get everywhere by bike, but sometimes at midday I would love a real Mercedes-Benz with air-conditioning. Biking to work in the states is possible, but not as easy as it is here, so I´ll enjoy it while I can.



As always, friend visits are great because I get to share Nicaragua with them. Peace Corps has had the same 3 goals since John F. Kennedy started the program in 1961.

1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

When I have friends visiting me, I get to share the things that I have learned about Nicaragua, and they get to experience it firsthand, which is what the 3rd goal is all about.

Now, its back to normal life. Hopefully, I´ll be able to get work back into high gear quickly before the heavy rains start in september an interrupt everything!