Today was our delegation’s second fun day. Woo hoo!!! After three hard days of working on our Community Action Project, it was nice to get a chance to relax and enjoy all that our host nation has to offer. We woke up at 5:30am sharp in order to begin our day. After breakfast, we all piled in the bus and began the two and a half hour drive from Matagalpa to the Masaya Volcano near Granada: another Global Glimpse destination city. Despite the long drive, it was quite enjoyable thanks to the delegate-requested music playlist put together by our PC’s Denis and Chelsea. We were able to listen to some our favorite jams and enjoy the view of the countryside. We even found that the cousin of our bus driver–who was with us–is second baseman for the Nicaraguan National Champions Matagalpan Baseball team. Viva Matagalpa!!!
Once we got to the volcano, we were able to stop inside the adjacent museum and read a little about the area. The volcano itself was amazing! For those of you who are lucky enough to get the opportunity to visit one, please do. Seeing the smoke rising up out of the crater left me in awe at its sheer magnitude. Some of us threw rocks into the crater and watched them disappear into the abyss. Although we didn’t see any lava, we did still have an amazing time and took some great pictures.
After the volcano, we headed off to the small town of Catarina. There were plenty of tourist shops to pick up souvenirs and memories; though the real treat was the mirador (lookout) where we had a breath-taking view of the lagoon below. Despite the gale force winds whipping our hair and making standing difficult, we took some great photos and had a great time.
Our final stop of the day was the Monkey Hut resort on the shore of the lagoon. After a lunch of cheeseburgers, penne pasta with sauce, or grilled chicken breast, we all went down the beach. Swimming, kayaking, lying in inner tubes, lying on surfboards, and sunbathing all were on the schedule as we all got to hang out and enjoy ourselves. The water was warm and soothing. Our PCs, GG leaders, and even our bus driver all took a dip.
Hope everything is great in the Estados Unidos. See you all soon.
— Mason Chupka (Day 17 El Lider Del Dia)
P.S.– a quick aside to just remind parents that our flight back to SFO in two days will be landing at 11:00pm local time so plan accordingly
What a great, fun day for all and much deserved. The pictures are beautiful and your description made me feel like we were right there with you. Can’t wait for your return on Thursday and all the stories to come about this awesome adventure. Save travels everyone!
Mason, that is probably the best blog title I’ve heard all year. Sounds like an amazing day and it was well documented by you.
Hey Khando hope you’re having a great last couple of days in Nicaragua, miss you and hope ya have a safe trip home see you friday!