Europeo Hotel Managua

... been washed so I used the invaluable travel sheet instead. <br><br>Sunday, 12 September, Day 229<br><br>Managua, Nicaragua <br><br> In the morning I caught a taxi up to the top of a hill to a lookout over the boring capital of Nicaragua. It turned out the hill was very close and I needn&#8217;t have caught a taxi, but I didn&#8217;t know that until I got there. The view was like the city, not special. I had no reason to stay so checked out of prison and ...

... It was a little creepy and there was no one else around.  Also, we met a guy about a month ago that was mugged there so we decided to walk away... bummer.<br><br>That night we went to the local fairgrounds where many of the Managuans go.  This night it was more of a family atmospere.  We had dinner there, watched a local dance performance, and did a little shopping.<br><br>Today we head to Granada, an old colonial town, and say good-bye to the unsafe streets of Managua. 

... going by on the street, there was also a pretty hectic market that was easy to get lost in.<br><br>From Granada it was a short trip to Laguna de Apoyo where I stayed for 2 nights, it was one of the most chilled out places ever, my days there consisted of sitting on the balcony at the hostel and staring down at the crater lake while listening to the reggae beats from the awsome sound system they had there. Or just chilling in a hammock and reading or grabbing a kayak and ...

The title didn't lie... we won 3-2! Buuut, it also doesn't say that we played a girls team who were anywhere between the ages of 13-15 and most of them didn't even have on what we Americans would consider "appropriate footwear" haha - but hey, a win is a win! It was actually a pretty fun and legit game of soccer. We had a referee (or at least someone who blew the whistle when necessary), lines on the field, and goals... but the field was mainly gravel, so that made it difficult at ...

... br><br>Me and a few other girls then went to one of the schools and did the "feeding program." This feeding program is something that Nica Hope started as a way of trying to get kids to come to school. We were told that serving lunch has really increased their attendance and that the meal that is provided is often to only meal that the children will get, or at least the best meal they will get. It broke my heart to actually get to the school and see the food that the kids were shoving ...

... places visited were exciting, Tortuguero was one more for education and learning. One fun fact I did learn was, Tortuguero is one of the last places the manatees still survive, and whether that is because of the unpolluted water, balanced ecosystem or protected lands is still being debated. <br><br>Day Nine was a day of rest. All of us students who had traveled from our small high school shared our stories and experiences discussing how we felt that the past week and ...

... Rica) was driving to Rivas that Thursday morning and he took us with him. He was an important lawer in Costa Rica (he didn't say that, but I knew for what he was explaying...important people do not need to say it...not like those other stupid men...). He was very nice, he made a drive in Granada so that we could see what we hadn't, and he explained me a lot about Nicaragua's history. After Rivas, we took a taxi to San Jorge. And from there a ferry to Ometepe Island.

... cafe. It was ok. But we forgot to leave tip, because of the chaos with the money: cordobas-dollars, no change, overcharge. So, the guy seemed upset, but only later we figured out why! Ooops. The lake is nice. It's kind of dirty near shore. A few kids swam in it, but very close. Alan read, there are sharks in this lake... They have a playground, but it is all covered with rust and grass. It they just invested a little money, time and effort in it, it ...

Granada was a busy time, the first day we went on a long tour which started with a boat trip around Lake Nicaragua visiting some of the islands there. We went round one private island which was up for sale (we had to pretend we were interested in buying it!) which was lovely, and only $410000, I did resist however as I thought it might stretch my ...