Luguna de Apoyo

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Luguna de Apolyo I've been here a week now and I must say it has totally been a life changing experience. I just spent a big chunk of the day today at this awesome crater lake in the middle of nowhere floating on a raft for like 3 hours. When is the last time we ever take time to just sit and think (I don't have question marks again). On the way there I took the public transportation bus for the first time. Wow. Their public buses consist of a fleet of american school buses, most still yellow, but some creatively painted, with several Nicaraguans hanging onto the outside, or sitting on the top. Quite a sight to see. Then once you go on I was one of three gringos on board. So, we're bouncing along with Latin music blaring and the horn being sounded every single stop. It's a really loud horn. The bus trip cost 20 cordobas, which is equivalent to a little more than a dollar. At some point during the trip someone comes along to collect the money. On the way home me and the girl I was with got a little more adventurous and took the "mini taxi" back to Granada. This was a beat up old mini van that had 16 Nicaraguans stuffed in it...plus Anne and I. I counted. Oh yeah...and one hanging onto the back. Crazy. It was cheap though...10 cordobas...less than a dollar. Good deal. When I came back I went to a pizza joint and had this awesomely big calzone and a strawberry Fanta soda. $2.50. I finished my first week of Spanish and it's coming along OK. I decided to stay in Granada for one more week, to get a little more proficient in my Spanish. I really like my teacher and the host family I'm staying with. Then I'm going to this rustic nature school near the crater lake I was at today. Maybe San Juan del Sur (BEACH) the week after. After talking to several other travellers, I'm really tempted to go to Costa Rica for a while. We'll see. It's like a 6 hour ride (via school bus).