Our Final Week in Nicaragua

On Sunday, September 21st, we attended the worship service at Artie's church, Verbo. There was lots of singing, which Susan and Alan translated for me. When it came time for the sermon, Alan and I were offered headsets to listen as the message was translated into English.

Below is a map of the Verbo Churches in Nicaragua. The second map is an inset of the Verbo Churches in Managua. Artie and Susan's church is second to the left.

Sunday afternoon, Susan took us to NCA to join in the weekly frisbee pick-up game. While I wouldn't say that the afternoon was much hotter than Nashville in the summer time, we were certainly feeling the humidity and the pace of the game. This wan't like the kinds of pick-up games I am used to! We ended up taking one water break in two hours, so I was beat by the time we wrapped up.

Monday through Thursday Alan and I volunteered in the library at NCA to work on putting barcodes on all the books. A new, larger library is being built, so they are also wanting to update to scanning barcodes to check books in and out. Here are some pictures of the library and of the NCA grounds. We enjoyed our time at the school and enjoyed being reminded of books that we read back in elementary or high school.  Each day at lunchtime, we headed to the school cafeteria to buy an authentic "Nica" meal.  We each had a plate full of tasty food, and shared a soda, all for about $4.00.

Our final trek outside of Managua was a trip to the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday. Susan and Artie drove us the hour and a half to the coast. While Susan and Artie appreciated that the roads are now paved farther toward the beach, as we got closer to the coast the roads were gravel or dirt. Since it had rained recently, there were some spots we thought we might need to get out and push. We made it all the way to the Gran Pacifica resort development. Of course, the rain began again once we arrived. So we enjoyed some time walking on the beach before hopping back in the car to be sure we could make it back to Managua. 

 We had a wonderful time in Nicaragua, and we enjoyed seeing so many different landscapes in the country, and getting to know so many folks who are working/serving there.  Thanks to Artie and Susan for being wonderful hosts.  We wish all the best for NCA and Verbo.

Hiking with the Howler Monkeys

This past Friday we took a trip to the mountains a few hours north of Managua.  We traveled through some farm land where we saw some facilities that one might see in the United States.  We also saw plenty of cattle and chickens.  The region we were in is known for its coffee production, so there were a number of processing plants with huge cement floors for drying the coffee when it comes down from the mountains.  Our trip took us through a city called Matagalpa and eventually we arrived at Selva Negra, a coffee plantation and resort.  During the night, we were treated to various sounds of nature, the most surreal being the call of the Howler monkeys.

After a tasty breakfast with high quality Nicaraguan coffee, we spent most of the day hiking various trails in the mountains. On one of the trails, we were able to hear Howler monkeys in the trees above us.  Unfortunately, we were unable to catch a glimpse of the monkeys themselves, but we could see the leaves rustle as they jumped from tree to tree.

The monkeys weren't the only creatures of nature we got to know while we were at Selva Negra.  We also got to know a goose we affectionately named Ralph, because that's what his honk sounded like.  You'll see a picture of Ralph below.

Susan and Artie told us that Selva Negra was one of their favorite spots in Nicaragua when we talked about going there, and I think it's safe to say that it's now one of ours as well.

Fiestas Patrias (Our First Day in Nicaragua)

We arrived in Nicaragua just in time to celebrate Fiestas Patrias, which are two holidays back to back. The first celebrates independance from Spain and the second celebrates driving out William Walker (a Tennessean) in 1856. Well...another Tennessean just arrived! Who knows what Alan is.

Because of the holidays, Susan and Artie had a day off from work to take us to several of their favorite Nica sites. The first was Lago de Apoyo. We drove out of Managua for about an hour before stopping at a beautiful crater lake, left from a volcano eruption. (Fact: There are 17 volcanoes in Nicaragua.) From our vantage point, the size of the lake may not be evident, but it is 5 miles across!

Next we drove a bit farther to a volcano called Masaya that erupted in 1772. The Masaya Volcano National Park Welcome Center and Museum shows a map of the lava trail, plus offers information on volcanoes, tectonic plates, and wildlife in the area. 

One of Masaya's craters continuously billows up huge clouds of smoke. We hiked up to and around a few of Masaya's craters that are grouped together. The trek afforded beautiful views of the countryside, the city of Masaya, and Lago de Masaya.

Next we drove a bit more to Granada, which is on Lake Nicaragua. Granada is supposedly the oldest city in the continental Americas. It certainly looks like a colonial European city! We wandered into its teeming town square, full of vendors and others relaxing on benches. After grabbing a snack (chocolate coconut milkshake, fresca, fried cheese and plaintains), we drove a little more around the city, to see the brightly painted buildings and the dock at Lake Nicaragua.

Once back in Managua, Susan and Artie took us to a traditional Nica restaurant that they like. Alan and I shared a large plate of chicken, ribs, steak, sausage, gallo pinto, plantains, and potatoes. That hit the spot after our long hike!

Susan and Artie are so full of information that we are getting to learn a lot about Nicaragua-- politics, history, geography, and culture. Our trip has been so richly enhanced by having the insight of locals. We are also learning more about their work. Susan's school is the Nicaragua Christian Academy (K through 12), and Artie's ministry is Verbo, which includes many churches, orphanages, and a hospital. Please consider supporting these ministries. As I write this blog, they are reminiscing about their first date, as today is the 40th anniversary of that occasion!

Last Week in Nashville

The past 10 days have been a bit of a whirlwind as we prepared to leave Nashville for 10 months or so.  Here's a quick recap of that time:

Friday, September 5th: Gracyn's last day of work. Alan sells the Vibe.

Monday, September 8th: We dive deeper into the ongoing process of packing up our lives so we can set out on our adventure.  Our place looks like a storage unit with boxes, bins, packing paper, and tape guns strewn about.  We join our friends for the last session of the current iteration of Dinner Winners.

Wednesday, September 10th: Quite possibly the most difficult day of the past two weeks.  This was the day we delivered our beloved Rue Kitty to the home of Emily and Blake, who will be caring for our girl while we travel.  Many tears were shed by us both.  The rumor is that Alan had to sit in the car for at least five minutes and collect himself before driving back home.  You can keep track of Rue's adventures over the coming months on the Rue's Corner page of the blog.

Thursday, September 11th: We work diligently to finish packing the Pod so that it can

be picked up on Friday morning.  Lo and behold, everything fits.  See picture below. We move in with our friends Jake and Katie for the evening.  

Friday, September 12th: We arrive at the duplex early so we can put a couple of extra things in the Pod and be there when the driver arrives.  By 10:00 am, most of our belongings drive out of the driveway to be stored for the next 10 months.  Alan runs various errands while Gracyn diligently cleans the duplex and gets it ready to hand over to the new tenant.  That night we celebrate an early Thanksgiving with our friends Scott, Vicki, Emily, Molly, Blake, and Parker.  The food was amazing and the fellowship was even better.

Saturday, September 13th: We hand over the keys to the new tenant and pull out of our driveway for the last time.  We spend the evening with our friends Jake and Katie, mostly drinking good beverages and watching Key and Peale.

Sunday, September 14th: Alan preaches at Hillsboro Presbyterian Church (Audio Here) and the church says a prayer over both of us.  Many people share their well-wishes and promise to keep us in their thoughts and prayers.  We will miss our church dearly.  After lunch, we head to Atlanta where we share a meal and spend the night with Gracyn's brother Daniel.

Monday, September 15th: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS