Laguna de Apoyo and Las Salinas

This is an email I just sent yesterday, so now this is up to date!

I just got back from a very restful 6 days away from NPH. On Tuesday the whole group of volunteers left to go to eat breakfast at the NPH office in San Jorge. From there we went to Rivas to try to open bank accounts (but it took too long, so we didn´t). Then we all went in NPH transport to the new property and then to Laguna de Apoyo. The Laguna is a lake inside a volcanic crater. It´s SO beautiful there! We spent a very relaxing afternoon and evening there. The water is slightly heated because it´s in a volcano, so it was perfect for swimming. Cool but not cold. We cooked and ate dinner together and had a reflexion about our first week at NPH.

On Wednesday we left the Laguna at 11 and took the hostel transport to Granada where we ate lunch and then caught the bus to Rivas. From what little I saw of Granada, it is really pretty, but quite touristy. But touristy isn´t always bad, it can just get annoying after a while. From Rivas we took a taxi to the NPH office in San Jorge. Michelle and I stayed there for the night because they let us stay for free! While we were there there was some excitment because the director of San Jorge came back from Managua with three boys (15-18) from Ethiopia that he had rescued out of jail. Apparently they had come here to escape war, but they didn´t have the right papers or something and so they were put in jail. Somehow Tio Paco heard about it and went and asked if they´d let them come live in NPH. The government was ok with it, so now they´re going to be Pequeños. Crazy! They speak a little English and a little Spanish that they learned in jail. So Michelle and I stayed at the office for the night in a very nice room with our own bathroom with warm water! (not hot, but you really don´t want hot in Nicaragua).

Then on Thursday morning we went with Sister Phyllis to Rivas where we went to the supermarket and to a pharmacy and then caught a bus to Salinas. We got there around 1 and everyone was very happy to see us. We ate lunch and chatted and more people came over. It was so nice to be there and see so many people that I know! It´s almost as good as going home. I know so many people and they´re all so nice and take such good care of me. For those of you that know Salinas people, they asked about a lot of you (even those of you who have only been there once.) I found out that Agustin just got married last Saturday (like a week ago). He said that he got tired of coming home from work and being tired and then having to go visit his girlfriend. So they got married and now she´s at home when he comes home. He seems really happy, and she still doesn´t talk to anyone, so I assume she´s happy, but I don´t know. Juan Manuel´s wedding was really nice. I felt a little weird because I don´t know her (Darlen) at all, but hopefully I´ll get to know her on future visits. I took a few pictures, but they aren´t that good because they´re from a weird angle. Ariel was running around at the front of the church with the other photographers, so I´ll get all those pictures from him when I go back and then I can send you some. I invited everyone in Salinas to come visit me on the island, so hopefully people will come! Visitors can stay for free (that goes for all of you too), so that´s nice. Anyway, in Salinas we also walked to the beach (that bridge that was flooded when we came back in January is broken so now you cross on sticks the they tied under this tree, even crazier than before! But I don´t have pictures ´cause I knew we were going to have to ford the river at the end and so it´s not good to bring cameras.) So that was nice. And we went to church on Thursday night (and saw Isabel, Esmeralda, José, and Elenita on the way). It was just a very relaxing and fun weekend. I have a feeling I´ll be going back a lot because it´s cheap and it´s relaxing. Just all around a good place to go on descanso.

Today Michelle and I left on the 845 bus and got back to NPH by 230, so that wasn´t too bad. It could´ve taken longer! Then we watched a movie here with some others that were here and then ate dinner. And now we have one week to get ready for school to start. And then we´ll have more of a schedule and I think it´ll be easier. And it´ll be nice to be doing our jobs.