Visiting Central America, Part 2

Well, I am back today with part two of our fun-filled trip to Central America.  If you missed part one you can read about it here.

After leaving the charming town of Granada, we drove to another charming town called Leon.  There was lots of history and great volcano boarding.  We were picked up early one morning to head to the volcano to do our boarding.  We spent one hour each way in the car, one hour to hike up the volcano, but it took just one minute down to board (slide) down it.  Was it worth it?  Yes, yes and yes.  This was the thing I was most excited about, and it lived up to everything I was hoping.

Nicaragua was super hot when we were there, but thank goodness the day we did our hike was really windy.  It helped cool us slightly, but it presented a challenge on some parts of the hike.  We were given a backpack that we all carried with our gear inside.  We each had a suit, goggles and gloves.  Then we had to carry our boards, which we put on our backs as well. Sometimes while climbing, the wind got the board, and I was close to slipping a few times.  It’s part of the adventure.

 

 

Here we are at a lookout at the top of the volcano.  You can see in the background the ash and rocks.  It is hard to tell in this picture, but we were only standing on a small spot and I was holding on tight because it was so so windy.  I can’t believe I didn’t lose my hat.

 

 

At the top we were suited up, and it looked so steep.  We were told it looks a lot steeper than it feels.  If you ever do this, I recommend a bandana or something to cover your mouth and nose.  Our guide was awesome and got some great photos and videos.  We used our feet to control our speed .  We just leaned back and went full speed ahead.  Add this to your bucket list. I can’t explain how much fun we had.

 

 

 

The track on the right was the one the boarders went on and the little path on the left is where the guides would run down.  It was fun to see them run down the side to meet you at the bottom.

 

 

 

After volcano boarding, we were back in Granada for a quick lunch before heading back to the capital for the night.  We had an early early morning flight to Belize, so we thought it was best to stay close to the airport.  At one point we had to slow down for these fellas.

 

 

We took a quick flight to Belize and then took a water ferry to the island of Caye Caulker.  I had been to Belize on a mission trip when I was in high school.  I really enjoyed the country then, and I was excited to be back.  Since this was the end of our trip, we decided to just go to the island and relax.  Ahh…. Caye Caulker.  I loved it and will go back.  It is touristy but low key and not commercialized or crazy.  The island is small, and they only have golf carts or bicycles to get around.  There were no cars.

We stayed at a charming cabana called Colinda’s Cobana’s, and it was right on the water.  The owners were from Canada and were the sweetest people.  I highly recommend staying there if you go.  A lot of our time was spent biking or walking around the island and relaxing –  oh, and drinking my fair share of watermelon juice and coconut water.

We planned a full day snorkeling trip, and it was wonderful.  Before heading into the water, we saw manatee, sea horses, and dolphins.  It was a great way to start our day.  We snorkeled in a few different sites, but the first one was with sharks and sting rays.  The boat captain was feeding the sharks, and they were all around the boat.  Sting rays were right under us, and it was a thrill.  I didn’t want to deal with a camera or phone, so I didn’t get any pictures.  Sometimes you need to make the memories yourself and really just live in the present.  That is what this day consisted of.  We used CaveMan tours, and they were wonderful.  I also would highly recommend.

We ate lots of fresh seafood and enjoyed the slow pace of life on the island.  It brought us both back to the days when we lived in Hawaii.  After a short time in Caye Caulker, we packed our bags to get back to Little Miss.  We met my parents halfway on the drive between Lexington and Charlotte.  I had the biggest smile on my face when I saw my baby girl.  She had a huge smile too, and I could tell she had a blast with the grandparents.  I already told Yankee I can’t wait to bring Little Miss to these places when she is older.  We both want to show her the world, and this is on the list.

 

Cheers!