Paradise, San Juan Nicaragua

Hello AllWell it is sad but we go to San Jose tomorrow and fly to SLC on Thursday. The great thing is that (in my opinion) today was my favorite day of the trip. We are in paradise. We are on the beach in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. It is not as touristy, safe and clean city. It is on a beautiful bay and today we took a boat ride to go surfing on a beach called maderas. Paul and I both rented surfboards for ten bucks and it was a blast. I always thought that it wouldn't be as fun as it is, but surfing is great. Paul didn't take lessons in Costa Rica, but caught on to it really fast today. We were out in the water for 6 hours and yes we got burned again. However, we wore our shirts and tons of sun block again. It was beautiful and there were only about 20 people on the beach. It was so tranquilo that we left our stuff on the beach and everything was alright. Six of the people we became friends with were from Holland. The food here is cheap and good. Today we sat on the balcony in rocking chairs and ate our steak, potatoes, rice, beans and fried banana that was only $1.50. This is the life. I think that I couldn't have ordered up a nicer day. Yep and we woke up and we were so glad.The trip here however was interesting. We had to stay in a hotel in Esteli Nicaragua. It was $1.50 per person and not worth that. The room was alright, but muggy, and hard beds. For ventillation, the walls only come to 6 inches to the roof which isn't that great for sound proof. We heard babies crying, a woman talking on her cell phone, and a couple making woopie. We didn't get to sleep until 2 am. Yes, Paul is being exposed to too much too fast. Not by choice. Our hotel here in San Juan is much better because we are paying $4 a person. We also had to go back to Managua, our least favorite city to get to San Juan where at the bus station the people fight for which bus to get you on. It was crazy as they were tug o warring with our bags and then expect a tip. Oh well, so we gave them 20 cents. Over all, I have loved Nicaragua. It is a beautiful country.We also heard that a volcano next to the one that we climbed on the Island of Ometepe erupted. Not a huge eruption but enough to send poison gasses in the air. We were actually debating on climbing that one or Maderas the one that we did climb. It gives you a wake up to reality of the dangers of volcanos.By the way, the most ironic thing happened just barely. We went looking for bracelets like the ones that we sent home and we couldn't find any anywhere. We were watching the sunset over the bay and the marina and we heard a familiar voice. The guy that we bought them from in Grenada arrived just then. He met a friend and was walking down the street. We walked behind him and he remembered our names. We asked him for more bracelets and he opened his shop for us and gave them to us for the same expensive price of $2 a peice. His name is Chato and is a salvadoran hippie that wonders from town to town. He is going surfing for a couple of days here and then will wander to the next country. He offered to smoke pot with him, Paul said no. He is a great guy and we exchanged emails.This has been the adventure of a life time and we have had a blast. It definitely is up there with study abroad and my two year vacation in Spain. I think that it has opened my eyes to many aspects of life that I wasn't aware of. It also has helped me decide that I will probably grow up one of these days. It is nice to have a purpose in life and not just ramble. I also will probably get married one of these days. Paul is great, but I really would like to be with a woman. I also have never felt afraid like I have here. Poverty sometimes is suffocating here. Traveling around on old US school buses (which are the best they have to offer) and spending money on frivolous things while people are wondering where there next meal is coming from makes you feel incredibly guilty and uncomfortable. It makes you feel like people would do anything to get your money. Before this trip, I never understand how the rich people could live and not help out the poor. Now I understand that the problems politically and economically are so overwhelming that it is hard to understand where to start. The ex president of nicaragua, who stole millions of dollars from the country is able to travel around even though he was found guilty. A good salary is $60 a month and it is still not enough to support a family. Sometimes I think that because when I go and meet people on VIDA trips and they are so happy, I get a rose glass image of poverty. The truth is that poverty is terrible period.However,I have to say that I love the culture and the landscapes of these countries. We have made many friends who have gone out of their way to help us. The people continue to give and live with one another. The members of the church are the cream of the crop too. I hope to be able to come back here and serve a mission with my wife.Well, I know that this has probably been too much into the mind of Scott. We will see you on Thursday at the airport.

Tela, Tegucigalpa, and Esteli Nicaragua

We�re back in Nicaragua tonight after an adventure and a half in Honduras. Wewent to the ruins and splurged by paying the $6 for a guide with some brits.It was incredible. I guess they were polygimi also. There were a lot of coolstatues and pyramids. I guess they didn�t have human sacrifices until one ofthier kings went to Mexico and saw that it was cool. The archeologists founda couple of pyramids under the current ones because the Mayan believed thatafter every 52 years that they had rebuild their religious structures. Thetemples that they felt were most holy they just built on top of them. We sawmacaws also.We then went to the beach in Tela Honduras. It is ironic that the whole timethat our friend Ty was here that it rained or was cloudy, but we had a greatday of sun, actually it was too sunny. Even though we put on tons of sunblockor SPF 50, we got fried. It hurts like a banshee to wear our back packs. Wewalked along the beach for about 2 miles. When we were walking back, one ofthe locals told us that it was dangerous to walk where there wasn�t a lot ofpeople or the tourist police because people had been asalted. We were prettyfreaked out and swam so we weren�t near the bushes where people could jumpout. I don�t know why anyone would assalt people on the beach because theydon�t carry a lot of money in their swimsuits. People all over the place inHonduras always talk about getting assalted. Today at church in Tegucigalpa,the bishop was suprised that we hadn�t had any problems. One lady told usthat she has been assalted three times, one time was on the ward temple trip.Honduras was a pretty place, but it is also so poor. Poorer than anything Ihave ever seen.The ward however today, was one of the strongest wards I have seen. Thechapel was packed, the talks were incredible, and the lessons even better.They were very friendly and warm towards us and even offered to take us in totheir homes. We met a senior couple from Utah serving there also. I wouldhave loved to been in that ward. We made our lovely trip across the bordertoday. We are sick of crossing borders, but we are almost back in Costa Rica.We are making our way to the beach in San Juan del Sur for tomorrow and Tuesto spend a couple of days trying to surf and boogie board. Then on Tues wewill go down to San Jose and fly out Wed morning. It is sad that it is comingto an end, but I am excited not to have to live out of a backback and wearclean clothes. Air conditioning will be nice too.Another little note, we met up with this beautiful brittish girl who istraveling by herself. She first went to Venezuela for two weeks and now sheis traveling up to Mexico to meet with her boyfriend. We had a great timewith her. I think that she is crazy though because she is gorgeous, blond,doesn�t speak Spanish and alone. Don�t let your daughters do that! She hasbeen fine though.Well, we will see you in a couple of weeks. Expect another email on Tues whenwe are in San Jose. We are calling Dad tonight and we don�t know Karen�snumber so Mom will have to talk to Dad.

Copan Honduras

We are now about ten minutes from the Guatemalan border in the city of CopanRuinas. We had a heck of a time to get here. We left Grenada Nicaraguayesterday morning, we then went to Managua, (we were pretty freaked outbecause of the horror stories that we have heard, so instead of spending theday there we took off) We then went through Ocotal, and then Las ManosNicaragua. I definitely have to say that I liked the people from northernNicaragua better than the south. They were incredibly friendly. We crossedthe border, which always sucks to have to go through customs, and changed ourmoney into Lempiras. (I know these are boring details but it was not that funeither.)When we crossed into honduras, it definitely felt different. They speak alittle different with different slang. They also have a little more positiveand outgoing spirit. We met a Brit couple who morgaged their apt and havebeen traveling all over south and central america for the last six months.They are going up through Mexico and the States and flying out of New York.It was great to talk to them. They found it amazing that we had roots fromall over. I tried to explain to them that is what happens when you live inthe U.S.We stayed in a great hotel last night in Tegucigalpa Honduras. Free Cable,two queen size beds and hot shower for $4 a person. We did however get alittle sick from the food we had last night. Our bus trip today was alsohell. It was 8 hours of a hot muggy bus. We didn�t get to sit by a windowfor about 5 of the hours and the people wouldn�t open them. Paul�s seat wasbroken, and because they sold too many tickets and there weren�t enough seats,this guy leaned on my headrest with half of his butt on my side of the chair.He also kept elbowing my head. Personal space is different here, and Idefinitely felt to culture clash.Part of the bus ride was on another retired school bus. This little 4 yearold kid in front of me kept playing with me. He would play the �"made youlook game" by telling me that there were dinosaurs, diploductis, andteradactyls behind me, and then when I would look he would slap me upside thehead. I would do the same back, and I hit harder. (I am joking) It waspretty funny.Copan is an awesome town with cobble stone streets and cool shops. We arestaying in another cool hotel for $3 tonight. This is a place that I thinkthe parents would enjoy, but you should rent a car instead of bus and comethrough Guatemala. It is tempting to go there because it is so close. Wehowever are not going.Well, we write again in a few days. We are going to see the ruins tomorrowand then off to the beach in Tela Honduras.

Granada Nicaragua

couple of funny stories to tell first. So we met these girls from England. Our friend ty thought it would be really funny if we played the game where we talked like them and they would talk like us. How ever they didn't find it so funny. We had a great time with them any ways. In the hostel there was a german, a french couple, a crazy guy from California, who swore that they rigged the election, and these Brit girls. We got on the topic of Nepolean Dynamite and how it reflected Utah and mormon culture. I ended up explaining to them what a bodaggit was. It was pretty funny trying to put it in less offensive terms. But I finally explained as a peice of poop. We all had a good laugh.Another funny thing happened today, we were walking down the street and a girl(we thought at first) said in English in a deep manly voice said" hello boys" and grabbed Paul in his special place. We then realized that it was a transvestite. Paul screamed and we laughed. That was the most action Paul had seen in two years.We went to the island of Ometepe, like I said in my last email. We stayed in this great hotel that was really nice with a fan. It only was $3 a night. We hired a guide that took us up an inactive volcano at 3 am. It was probably the hardest hike that any of us had ever done. It was through the rain forest. There were howler monkeys and spider monkeys every where. When we got to the base, our guide told us that we could buy water there. The restaurant had run out of bottles that they would reuse and fill with their own purified water. Ty didn't like the idea of "purified water from the restaurant" which was probably a good thing, and I didn't like the idea of not having very much.We hiked to another town and bought all of the bottled water that they had, a whopping four bottles. We then hiked up where Paul had bought some of the reused bottled water. We started at the base and it was incredibly hot and humid. Here is a tip, don't come to a rain forest during the rainy season, it is very muggy. It however got cooler as we hiked higher. After the first KM we were asking if we were half way there. It turned out that the hike was around 8 miles round trip. They greatest part was that our guide was in middle school so he hiked super fast because he had to get home to a school project. It ended up taking us six hours. They greatest part was that it was raining and incredibly muddy, we fell on our butts all the way down. On the way up, our guide also got lost! We had to hike around a bit to find our way. It was alright because it was worth it. When we got to the top, there was an awesome lake in the crater and the crater was full of jungle. Of course we had to go swimming. We then had to use a rope to get up the crater. It was a great adventure. They told us that last month there were an american and brit that refused to take a guide and fell off a cliff. They had the army search and two weeks later found their clothes and bones that had been picked by vultures.Right now we are in Granada a very colonial city in Nicaragua. Awesome place, it reminds me of Europe. We are going to Jimotepe tomorrow because they are in fiestas, which means bull fighting and bull runs. ty also leaves tomorrow by himself to Costa Rica and to the states. We are sending home souvenirs with him.Well have a good time and we will write next time from Honduras.

Jinotepe Nicaragua Rodeo

I forgot to write yesterday about our experience at church. Yes we went to church in Rivas Nicaragua. There was a missionary couple serving there that was from Spain and were living in Austrailia. They were on their fourth mission. They had been in Ecuador, Honduras, Chile and now Nicaragua. They had so much faith, it was great to talk to them. They ward house was full to capacity. They say that they have around 500 baptisms a month in their mission.Today, Tyler left for San Jose and Paul and I went to Jinotepe to see the festival of Santiago that was going on today. We met some spanish catholic missionaries and talked to them for a while. The people were dancing in the streets and they had a procession where they carried the saint statues for 12 hours through out the town. We also saw the missionaries again. We then met this guy who was living in Miami and visiting his family in Jimotepe. He told us about the town rodeo that started at 2. A couple other people, including the guy that sold us the ticket also said that it started at 2. We went in and waited around until 400 for it to start. They have a different concept of time. It was awesome to see them ride the bulls. The bulls weren't as big or as aggressive as in the states, but they were still mean. It was pretty funny because there were a lot of drunk guys in the ring taunting the bulls. Instead of rodeo clowns, it was town drunks that distracted the bulls. One guy got knocked out, and another guy had his shirt ripped off. We had a great time.Tomorrow we are going to Managua to take a bus to get to Honduras. Paul is obsessed with the Maya so we are going to take a side trip to see the ruins and then come back.Nicaragua is a different world. There is a lot of poverty here. All of the buses in Nicaragua are retired school buses from the states which makes traveling a little uncomfortable. We were also talking to a teacher that makes $68 a month. He has to go and work at another job in order to feed his family. The people here are pretty pessimistic about the situation. The country is beautiful and incredible, but I wouldn't recommend it to any one who has a family. Costa Rica is for everyone though.

Volcano Arenal

A lot has happened since we last emailed We went to Monteverde and did the canopy zip line tour which was amazing. 2hrs of zip lines with a tarzan swing and rappeling. Costa Rica keeps out doing itself. To waste some time we went back to the frog place and this cool butterfly garden.We then went to Malpais, a surfer bum town. It wasn't the greatest, the surf was rough and the crowd too. When we got to the hotel a couple of people were smoking pot and boozing. We decided to come to Tamarindo today, another 8hr jorney. The beach is calmer, but this is definitely a tourist trap. Tons of fancy hotels and even burger king (in a truck, we'll explain later). We are taking surf lessons tomorrow and staying a $5 place. We will be here for a couple of days.

Greetings from Costa Rica

Here is a little note to make you wish that you weren't married with children.Paul, Ty and I are living it up here in the CR. We went to a couple of colonial towns and then yesterday we went to Tortuguero National Park. Most people fly, but we are traveling on a budget and so we took two buses and a boat. The boat ride was like the jungle ride at Disneyland but for real. There are plants on top of plants there is so much life here. We saw crocs, spider, howler and other monkeys,tons of different tropical birds and iguanas.We took a picture of a crock for Seth just like he asked. We met a man named Walter who is a Costa Rican teacher in the bus station. We became quick friends and when we told him that we were going to Tortuguero and that we were looking to camp instead of staying at a hostel, he offered his land. Also because he was on vacation, decided to come with us. He was supposed to go to San Jose to deliver some documents for his computer class that he teaches to get paid, but he rearranged his whole schedule to be with us. We got to stay in his village on the river, and have a very different and more personal experience than most tourists. We went on a tour last night to see the sea turtles making their nests. They use red lights to not desturb the turtles. These turtles are endangered because people kill them and sell their meat on the black market. so people volunteer to protect them during thier egging season. It was an awesome experience, I guess it was like watching when the grandbrats were born but in turtle form. I am joking. We also went to a Canadian/ Costa Rican refuge on the river where a bunch of hippies and scientist live to study the birds and plants of the forest. and do drugs in their freetime. It was cool. I would love to live their. The Croc that we saw lived right next to the place where we stayed and we got close enough to touch him. We didn't though because we would have lost a limb. We set up our tents underneath a palm thatched hut and slept by the beach. It was great.We took a 4 buses for 12 hour trip today. It took so long becuase we went through the pueblos. Paul is in heaven making tons of friends along the way. By the way, he is adjusting pretty well from the mission. We went swimming last night with a bunch of girls in their underwear. * Rawl don't tell Rachel have offended them.We are in the town of La Fortuna now. La Fortuna is at the base of the Volvano Arenal, it is one of the most active volcanos in the world. Right now we can see the red glow from the lava. We met up with some Isrealis and are going to take a night tour tomorrow. We are also going to do a rope swing into a hot spring tomorrow. We will email in a couple of days are next report.By the way Ty did come in fine, and his bags came in a day later. Also, fam, Ty's dad said that our parents internet is down, so please tell them about this.

Arenal

Hello Family,As you probably have guessed, this is our travel journal so we are emailing you everything and somethings maybe should have been left unsaid.Anyways, we had an awesome time in La Fortuna. IN the morning we went looking for a rope swing that went into the river called El Salto. It was free and we are poor so we thought that it would be a good option. We ended up walking about 5 miles up hill to a waterfall that we had to pay for. We decided to pay the $6 and see the falls. IT was definitely worth it. They were about 60 feet tall and we went swimming underneath them and in pools near by. We then talked to some of the locals and found were El Salto was. It was one of the best parts of the trip so far. There was a rope swing that would let you swing out and drop from about 25 feet in the air. The water was warm and we were next to some more water falls that were about 15 feet high. We could dive off into the falls. IT was great. One of the locals goes there every day.We got back from the falls and went on a Volcano Arenal tour. It was $20 but also worth it. They first took us on a jugle tour with tour guides that were biology students and knew a lot about the animals. We saw spider monkeys, howler monkeys, toucans, the works. During the tour we could hear the volcano exploding in the background. They then took us to see the volcano. We could see the lava glowing from the view point. They said that a couple of years ago there were guides and tourist killed because they were too close. Now they take the tourists to a safer spot. After the tour they took us to a hotspring resort with 11 different temp pools and two wet bars. This place made Cristal Hot Springs look like a toilet. We got in for free but other people pay $20 for entrance. It was probably the fanciest place I have ever been. We got pina colatas (non alcoholic of course) and sat in the pools. The best part is that it began to rain. This made the pools steam. In the pools there were islands of banana plants and other tropical plants. It was incredible.Today we took a bus to lake Arenal. We then took a boat across the lake. It would be the perfect lake for waterskiing. I think one day I would like to make millions by taking people skiing. We then took a microbus (VW bus) to Monteverde where we are now. It is a small town in the rainforest very cool. We went to a frog-a-terium. We saw 20 different species including the poison dart frogs. They were in large aquariums and the guide brought a flashlight so that we could see them. (It gets dark at 6pm here and this is when all of the animals become active) He also knew all of the calls and they would answer back.We tried looking for churches every where we have gone. We havent seen any churches or missionaries yet. We have asked the locals and they say that there aren{t any close. We will make it next week.We are safe, healthy, and happy and tomorrow are going to do the zip line canopy tour. Our friends from Israel said it was the greatest thing they have ever done.Well it is time to go and as they say here in Costa Rica PURA VIDA!!!!Scott Paul and Ty