One Lucky Girl

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?

Volcan Mombacho 

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.

Hiking up Cerro Negro so we could sled down!

Hard to not enjoy days that end this way

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