Day 10, Saturday, June 21
Masaya Market & Volcano and Final Match in Managua
By Meghan and Kamryn, Ponte Vedra, FL
We woke up on our last day in Granada. Everyone had decided to go to
Kathy¹s Waffle House, an authentic American Waffle restaurant, for
breakfast. The group headed over and got excited to see the many waffle and
pancake options: chocolate chip, banana, strawberry, blueberry - the options
were endless! Most of us opted for a pancake plate, which came with two
giant pancakes, but Eric felt like making his breakfast choice a challenge,
and told the waiter ³surprise me!² A choice many of us wish we had made.
We were all brought our breakfasts, and then Eric¹s monstrosity of a plate
consisting of two chocolate chip/banana pancakes, two sunny-side-up eggs, a
few pieces of bacon, and toast. Everyone was awed by his attempt to clean
his plate, however, Meghan was a bit skeptical of his stomach¹s capacity,
and egged him on with ³finish it, you won¹t!² Eric put up a valiant effort,
but was unable to finish his meal.
A few of us made some last minute purchases before returning to the hotel to
load up our baggage onto our bus. We bid Whitney and Shelby Erb goodbye, as
they were going to stay in Granada to continue on their own Nicaraguan
journey for a few more days.
We visited the famous Masaya Arts Market for about an hour which gave us a
chance to buy some souvenirs for our trip home.
After shopping it was only a few more minutes on to the Masaya Volcano
National Park. We looked around the visitor¹s museum before making the drive
up to the top of the volcano. It was breathtaking, literally, as the
volcano is somewhat ³active², emitting large amounts of sulfur into the air,
which caused many of us to cough. The volcano has a large cross that is 177
(the number was confirmed multiple times by Eric, Brian, and Kamryn) steps
up onto the side of the mountain, which we decided would be a great way for
us to burn off those calories gained from Kathy¹s incredible breakfast. The
view from the cross was amazing and a great place for hundreds of group
photos. As we were loading up the bus, a few of the girls were handed fresh
pineapples. As excited as we were to have received these marvelous fruits,
we were also as equally disappointed when we realized that we could not eat
them, as we had no means of removing their skin to get to the tasty meat
inside.
We pulled up to a large building, and all were confused as to why we were
there. Turns out it was the Gallerias, or in layman¹s terms, Managua Mall.
We were told that we had about three hours to get lunch and entertain
ourselves. Many of us headed straight up to the food court which was full
of familiar restaurants: Burger King, Subway, Sbarro¹s, Eskimo Ice Cream,
and Papa John¹s. Many of us decided to double dip, first eating at the BK
Lounge and then heading over to Subway, or vice versa. Once we had eaten,
we decided to wander around scoping out the local stores. We were caught off
guard when we saw they, too, had a Nike, Abercrombie, and a few other
American name brand stores. After exhausting the strip, we found a couch
and a couple love seats and decided to call it quits and wait it out. To
our dismay, we still had a little more than an hour to waste. Luckily, we
found a candy shop within the parameter of our little ³camp² and decided to
spend the rest of our Cordoba (C$) change purchasing some flavored sugars.
After squishing at least six people on a couch made for three, our time ran
out and we all headed back to the bus.
About 15 minutes later, we arrived at the gym to play the Nicaraguan Senior
National Team, and a local juniors team. The older team played the first
match and led by their fearless coach (who took a little coercing by Mariah
and Kam) TIP TOP TIMMY (AKA Tim Kelly) defeated the senior team in three. A
great way to finish the tour! The younger team was not so lucky but
nonetheless still ended in high spirits.
After showering at the gym, we hopped aboard the bus for the last time and
were chauffeured to the Best Western where we were to spend the next few
hours waiting for our midnight flight. We had a wonderful dinner of pasta,
rice and vegetables, fish, chicken and rolls in a private room. After
finishing our dinner, we were free to wander around the lobby and patio
until we had to go to the airport. Around ten thirty, we were all told to
gather our stuff and begin the trek across the street to the Managua
Airport.
The tour was an amazing adventure full of fun, learning experiences and
great memories. Favorite parts were the Beach Day, the Orphanage, the
Flying Frog Canopy Tour & Zipline, Finca Java and the clinic we did, and
also visiting the schools. Together we feel we made a lasting impression on
a few young people in Nicaragua and we know that a lasting impression was
made on each one of us!
Thanks to Tim, Brooke, Jo, Taelor, Dave, Don Cristobal, Austin, Mort, Doug &
Julie, and Wes for making our tour a wonderful one! And a special THANK
YOU to Coaches CJ, Rico, Whitney, Shelby and Monica for coaching us and
spending time with us!
Final Editor's Note: Muchisimas gracias a nuestro gran amigo Rene Quintana
para todo su ayuda con esta gira y ojala que tengamos muchas más giras en
Nicaragua en los proximos años. It was also great to have our good Slovenian
friend and partner Radovan "Rohrschlag Garcia" Gacic on tour for the last
few days in Nicaragua to meet the Nicaraguan Federation's President Doña
Bertha Cuadra. We are looking forward to hosting our 2009 Women's Global
Challenge in Nicaragua thanks to her help!
