Leading
up to spring break (aka Semana Santa) I was hesitant to tell anyone
that I was excited about going. From my sister I have learned to
plan trips before you get to your destination and pack them full of
things to do (it is a great way to travel), but none of that was
happening. I had my flight to and from Nicaragua and a hotel in
Granada as well as hostels reserved in Leon. I also had two hikes tentatively (they needed others to sign up as well) set up for my
solo time in Leon. But nothing was planned for Granada. This caused
me stress. I was afraid we would spend the days trying to decide
what to do, or drinking, or eating four hour meals, or walking around
and around the city.
This
is not what happened at all. The first day did resemble my fears a
little, but even that was not bad. And we used that time to plan
adventures on a volcano and kayaking around the islands in lake
Managua. During my time in Granada I saw amazing views, did
activities that I love, and spent time with some good friends, what
more could I have wanted in a vacation?
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| Volcan Mombacho |
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| Kayaking with Ashleigh |
And,
as it turns out, having things planned out does not always lessen my
stress about things. For the second half of the week I was unable to
find anyone wanting to do what I wanted to do (hike!) so I went out
on my own. I had heard that people in Nicaragua are friendly and
willing to help and that it is a much safer country than Guatemala.
But I was still nervous.
I
am this weird combination of being extremely independent and yet not
overly confident. I am willing to do things on my own if I need to,
but it takes encouragement or psyching myself up and always involves
a lot of stress. So when I am able to do things that I want, but am
afraid of, I get a boost that I wish I could hold onto every day of
my life. Three big things (at least big to me) that I was able to
accomplish on this trip were: eating alone, speaking Spanish, and
riding the buses alone.
I
have friends who are good at eating alone. I am not. When I was
traveling Europe alone (only a week) I would buy things at the store
and eat them in my hotel/hostel room rather than eating out. I even
went to McDonalds when I was in Switzerland because it was easy and
everything else scared me. In Leon, I only ended up eating two meals
alone, but I was proud of myself for it (bringing a book helped). My
Spanish is pretty decent, so I don't know why I have issues using it,
but I do. I worry about making a fool of myself by saying something
dumb. In Leon I had to use it as many people didn't speak English.
I even had someone ask me for help because they didn't speak Spanish,
that felt good! And the transportation is pretty easy, I was just
worried I would end up on the wrong bus. It was actually really
easy.
But,
in the end, my biggest lessons came during the last adventure of the
week and after returning home. The second hike I did involved
sledding down a volcano (similar to the Sand Dunes only gravel, not
sand), backpacking up and around other volcanoes, and swimming in a
crater lake. Regardless of anything else, it was going to be a
lovely two days. What made them into two days I will not forget were
the people. I don't easily click with people. I don't know if my
interests are different, if I am too picky, if I missed some
important day in middle school where that was taught, or what, but it
rarely is it simple. This time it was. The first part of the hike,
that included eight others who were just volcano boarding, was great:
conversations flowed, and fun was had. It became even better when
five of us put on our packs and headed up volcano number two. The
rest of our two day hike I rarely questioned what I was going to say,
or how I was going to act, or any of those annoying things I tend to
do on a daily basis. It was just simple and, for me, that makes it
amazing. I don't know if the others felt the same way, I hope they
did since they game me so much more than the views and time outdoors
could have alone.
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| Hiking up Cerro Negro so we could sled down! |
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| Hard to not enjoy days that end this way |
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| The great hiking crew: Me, Gabriel, Mike, Talia, and Aymie |
When
I got back to Guatemala, I was excited to share my stories of Semana
Santas, hear others' and, of course, to share my photos on facebook
:) On those photos, my dear friend Denise Gosciejew left the comment
"You
sure are one lucky girl!".
It brought tears to my eyes. Despite heartaches I have experienced,
the stress in my life, my confidence struggles, I am an
extraordinarily lucky girl. I am having adventures I never thought
I would, I have family and friends that support me in those
adventures and I am meeting new people who continue to help me grow.
I gained a lot from my time in Nicaragua, remembering to be grateful
for it all is the best lesson I could have received. I will forever
hold tightly to that.
Hikes I did, incase you are interested:Full Moon Hike and El Hoyo backpacking
