It has officially been a week since our group arrived here in the beautiful country of Nicaragua! We have made our way through various cities, including Managua, Ticuantepe, Masaya, Granada, and Esteli, seeing vast landscapes and introducing our bodies and minds to a culture very opposite of our own and it has been beautiful to experience! Yesterday we were able to give ourselves a nice break from the city of Esteli and traveled South to the Zultue de Estanzuela, which is a small waterfall located in the Tisey Estanzuela Natural Reserve. We caught the 1:30 bus after our Spanish lessons had ended and the bus rides each way were by far the most unique experiences I have ever had.
On the way there all of the seats were full, along with a bit of room in the back and throughout the aisle. Being the first of our group to get on, I made my way to the back, pushing through vendors selling vitamins and fruits to where I found myself a seat on a motor-bike wheel across from a lovely old woman with whom I swapped smiles. Rachel joined me on a bus tire next to mine and we were off! Then we made a stop and more people packed themselves into the bus. Finally after making it to the reserve we hopped out the back door, avoiding the awful experience that would have been maneuvering through the crowd.
After a wonderfully relaxing time at the falls swimming, we caught the 4:30 bus back to Esteli and were greeted by another surprise on board; Wood. There were wooden planks stretching down the aisle, ready to be built into something and logs sprawled across the back seats, which a few of us decided to sit on. They were a lot more comfortable than expected and I would do it again in a heartbeat! There was also a woman carrying a chicken in a plastic bag, with only its head sticking out. What a sight! Being a person who has spent a lot of time on buses, I was pleasantly surprised and quite enthralled by the experience. I wish the bus rides in the United States were filled with this much character and life rather than the limiting restrictions of personal headphones and cell phones. We leave tomorrow for San Juan Limay and will get to meet our host families who we will be living with for the next two weeks while we work on painting a mural and teaching the children an array of artistic techniques. I have been so happy with my experience thus-far and am even more ecstatic and slightly nervous for what is to come.
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