Relajación por la Laguna

On Saturday, Patricia and I headed up the Apoyo Lagoon. The Lagoon is an ancient and now extinct crater lake - depth unknown. We hung out at a great hostel by the water front, enjoying the chance to relax in the tempid water. It was 6km across - was tempted to swim it but I didn´t have any goggles.. thats my excuse and I am sticking to it). Also got in a bit of kayaking (and would you believe studying!!).

Nothing like a little relaxation lagoon side!

Mi Días....

After being in Nicaragua 6 days I have settled into a little routine. Let me share my days with you.

1. Play water roulette! The water goes on and off during the day, and showers are a bit pot luck. Pretty much now, when ever I am home, I test if the water is on and have a shower (including the middle of the day). This was after not having a shower one night or the next morning either.. Thank goodness for wet ones (and the good old pommy wash). Have also resorted to filling empty water bottles with tap water for a bush shower - just in case.


2. Always have a torch handy. This week the power has gone out every night for between 6-8 hours, but the time is always a bit of surprise. The worst is not being able to turn on the fan (it must be 90% humitity here at night and I am too scared to leave the door open. You never know what will crawl in).


3. Study, Study, Study....Four hours a day at school (with four different teachers who each give me homework...). Homework takes up to 3-4 hours a day at the moment. And I thought this was a holiday! My most used words are 'no entiendo' and 'yo olvido' in class.


4. Venture to the 'mecardo' for water, sweets, fruit... when ever I think I might need to get me through studying! Each shop specialised in a different thing, fruit, plastic, water, shoes...


5. Have a coffee in Parque de Central with Patricia - who is staying in the same house as me (yes, you can even get lattes and iced coffee here) - actually the coffee is better than in the USA, probably because this is coffee growing country. Not a Starbucks in sight.


6. Enjoy my three home cooked meals! This is the life....no cooking or cleaning (except my bedroom) or laundry. This is better than being a teenager again. I am pictured outside the front of my house. My room is great so long as I ignore the spiders and webs in the roof).


7. Enjoy the slower pace of life - no driving, no peak traffic, no mobile phones.... Just lie in a hammock or in the sit in the park and enjoy the breeze and watching life in Nicaragua.


8. Plan for weekend escapes. This weekend we are off to La Lagoona.

Hola Nicaragua

I have arrived safely in Nicaragua, after two flights with American Airlines (partners with Qantas). Not only do you get no food on the plane, the Admiral Club (equivalent to Qantas Club) does not give you free food and drinks!).

My first thought on arrival was I wish I spoke more Spanish! Spent two days in Managua (capital city), before heading off to Granada (in an old USA school bus). Granada is just beautiful, and exactly how I imagined it. Old style spanish colonial, with just the right balance between locals and tourists (and the restaurants, internet cafes and pubs to go with it).

So, what I have done so far:

1. Visited La Esperanza Granada - the organisation I will be volunteering with once my spanish improves.



2. Commenced my Spanish Lessons at 1:1 tutoring (after two days my brian is ready to explode!)



3. Moved into my home, with my host family/home stay, the lovely Rosita (three home cooked meals a day, private bathroom and my own TV - with more channels then I have at home!).



4. Booked my first Salsa lesson (look our Dancing with the Stars).

Spectaular Yosemite

Yosemite certainly lived up to my expectations and its reputation.. My biggest travel tip - make this more than a day trip - Yosemite deserves much more time. But a little time is better than none...

Words can not describe just how beautiful Yosemite is - so I am not even going to try. I´ll let the pictures do all the talking. Sorry about the angles on them. I can´t get into Picture Editor on this computer (will try and fix up later). The waterfalls, giant sequoia, spectaular granite cliffs(complete with rock climbers on a 24 hour rock climb up the face!) were beautiful. Also saw my first bear precautions - food canisters and safes.

Fake Tales of San Fransisco

I love San Fransisco! What a beautiful city. Arrived on 11th June for a whirlwind SF experience. So why is SF so great you ask? Here are my top 10 reasons why:

1. Walking the 400 steps to up Telgraph Hill (this gave Jacobs Ladder a run for its money)
   


2. Grabbing a coffee at the great range of independent coffee shops (no more Starbucks please..)


3. The great restaurant scene (thanks Jonathan - the asian fusion was awesome).


4. Cycling the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito (FYI - the bridge has phones with crisis counselling numbers for jumpers!)


5. Catching the ferry from Sausalito back to SF (when you see the hill I rode down to get to Sausalito - you will understand why riding back up is not an option)


6. Viewing the city at night from Twin Peaks


7. Catching the old fashion trams (very touristy I know - but not to be missed) - including the 1950's style trams down Market St.


8. Checking out the Seven Painted Ladies and the most photographed view of the city (despite cursing the 1 hour walk up hill to get there).


9. MoMA (SF Museum of Modern Art) in SoMo - despite the fact that the Chigal I wanted to see was out on ´tour´.
   


10. Enjoying the hills, architecture and people of SF.

Laguna Sunrise

After the conclusion of GSE (Saturday 9th June) headed back to my host family in Corona for a couple of days. I was collected by Cynthia and Kathy to head back to Palm Springs for a yummy lunch and a little shopping. I had to detour on the way to the PO (to try and lighten my load). Two hours later, 25lbs were on their way back to Australia. Dinner was a lovely night - with the essential margarita or two.

Sunday David and Cynthia took me to Laguna Beach - to experience the real OC! Top 5 for Laguna...

1. Breakfast beach side at the Beach Cafe (lobster club sandwich for me).
2. Wandering the streets - galleries, shops and ice-cream.
3. Checking out a house open (only $2.3m US - quite a bargain actually!)
4. Climbing the hills, looking at the amazing houses, views and landslide site.
5. Just chilling! - Laguna had that great beach side feel where you just want to slow down and relax.

So Long, Farewell... GSE & the Inland Empire

I have just completed an absolutely amazing GSE journey over the past 5 weeks in Southern California. To find out more about the teams travels, visit the GSE website at www.gse2007.blogspot.com. Thanks to Redlands (and Cheryl) in particular for a great farewell party - it was a wonderful way to conclude a life changing experience.

My top 10 for the GSE (this was a tough one, there were about 100 things I could list!)

1. Having the privilage of staying with my absolutely fabulous GSE host families (you know who you are). Spending time with you has been the highlight of the exchange - sharing home cooked meals, Mothers Day, Anniversaries, and great conversation and friendship.
2. Meeting all the inspirational Rotary Clubs and Rotarians - the club meetings and district conference were a hoot.
3. Having the opportunity to undertake vocational days and significantly expand my understanding of the US health system. Ok... now for the fun stuff in no particular order....
   
4. Being a ´wild hog´- touring Redlands on the back of a Harley Davidson Electra Glider.
5. Rooting for the local baseball team - Go the 66ers!
6. Lunch at ´The Del´ in San Diego
   
7. Big Bear - it was just my kind of town - hiking, boat parties and great restaurants (Cafe Mambo of course)
8. Yukka Valley BBQ - a true bush barbie with red dirt, willy willies and ...emus!
9. Hospitality tent at District Conference (lets see, what drinks did I try... sangria, mojito, margarita...I lost count after that)
10. Dinner at Raw Sushi - a great party and atmosphere (and the most amazing sushi I have ever tasted.

And the last most amazing experience - spending time with my amazing team members - Rebecca, Clare, Jill and Jeffery. I am going to feel very lost without you on the next leg of my journey. Who is going to tell me what to wear, where I should be, where I have been and wait patiently while I decide what to eat at the restaurant.. I will miss you all, and CU soon back in Australia.