For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return... Leonardo da Vinci
I finally went zip lining and I was scared as can be, thankfully I had my gopro so I will be able to watch the footage when I get home or at some point on this trip if I have the time.
It took a lot of work and walking for me to finally get to this thrilling yet terrifying experience but it was all worth it. To start off I left Samara with Tessa by taxi to the airport, where I caught a public bus to Liberia. In Liberia I walked around and asked questions about what buses I needed to catch. I found a guy at a hostel who told me I had enough time to get to the national park and do the adventure I just had to talk a bus and walk 23km to the park enterance. Me being me thought, 23km that is nothing, I run that a few days a week. The only things walking is it takes longer and I do not run with a backpack that weighs 25lbs and a smaller one that weighs about 7lbs.
I did luck out however because after walking 8km I was picked up by a family from Ontario that drove me to the top the only problem was that the tour was already started and I had to make a reservation, this I was not told by the guy who said I would have enough time. I decided to walk back down the mountain which was 10km, to find a hostel to stay at but it was $27.50 and that was for a tent. I walked around had some lunch and decided to go back up and see about getting a hotel. I started walking back up but was again lucky and was picked up about 3km in. There was no room at the hotel and it cost $85.00 a night so I started walking back down. I saw someone who spoke English and they asked where I was head so I said Liberia but that I had missed the last bus. They were going to the same place and offered me a ride, turns out the guy grew up in Sarnia and knew all about Petrolia. His wife found it very interesting and we talked all about back home the whole way to Liberia.
Once in Liberia I got a hostel and went and explored the town. There is nothing ever interesting in Liberia but a large church which I stop at and did a prayer.
After getting something to eat I went back to the hostel and met a few people from Quebec and had a conversation with them in French. My French is really coming out on this trip, I start talking in Spanish and always end up talking in French. I didn't realize I was so fluent in French! The three of us decided to go for a talk which was nice because it was cool out.
The next day I took a shuttle back to the zip lining again with my backpack because I wasn't sure what I was doing after and didn't feel like walking and risking being late. The walk is not a straight walk, you walk up a volcano.
The tour started out with a horseback ride which was very relaxing. 
We went for about two hours and my horse like to be in the front so we was going pretty fast which made it enjoyable. After horseback riding we did tubing, which is just like white water rafting but you are alone in a tube. 
This was scary but awesome. I got stuck a few times on rocks and had to jump off and get back on which was not fun! The water at times came right over your head and took you under a few times. You had to paddle with your arms, which I was no good at because my arms weren't long enough. I would recommend you doing this if you are ever near Liberia, I would do the whole tour again. I can't wait to see my gopro footage of this and hear myself at times and see myself.
After tubing we had lunch which was included in the tour. Lunch was at a 5 star restaurant in the hotel and was delicious. I eat a little too much but it was so good I couldn't help myself. At lunch I was invited to join a family since I was alone. They were such a sweet and nice family. We talked about our family's and where we were from all of lunch. One of her sons has Aspergers and she was telling me about all the stuff she had to fight for when he was growing up and how hard it was to get the school to give him an IEP. He son is 28 and from the stories she told me, the school system has come a long way. He other son who was on the trip is in the Army and to hear his view in things was very interesting.
Once lunch was done we all went back to the tour area and got our gear on for zip lining. The tour had a helmet that I could connect my gopro to so it made things a lot easier. The family that I had lunch with took me under their wing and asked me to stay with them so I did. It was a lot of fun and we had some laughs. I was scared and it was all over my face as Tom pointed out a few times. During the whole things I was so terrified I didn't get to look around to much but what I did see was enjoyable. I can't wait to watch my footage just to relive the whole thing.
The last activity in the package was the hot springs. We did a mud sap first which you had to wait 10 minutes for the mud to dry, this was not fun at all. 
After the mud dried I washed off and went in the natural hot springs for about an hour.
I met back up with my adopted family for the afternoon and when we were down they drove me back to the tour desk so I didn't have to wait an hour for the shuttle that took me back to the your desk, this was great because I could catch the last shuttle back to Liberia. As I was waiting for the shuffle which was already 15 minutes late someone who was leaving work ask if I was going to Liberia and if I wanted a ride. His English was not very good and my Spanish was also not very good but we managed to have a conversation and he helped my with phases to say when I got to the bus terminal and I helped with with some English words. Almost everyone I have met on this trip have been great, the only rude person I have encountered was a guy from Texas.
Juan dropped me off at the bus station and I caught a bus to the Nicaragua border. I knew it was going to be dark and because of all the stops we made to pick people up on the side of the road I was going to miss the last bus to my hostel. I was getting a little nervous because of all of the stories I was told about the border. I ended up meeting a lady who lives in Nicaragua and even know I could not understand a word she was saying I still manage to understand what she was saying. She helped me the whole way across the border making everything a lot smoother.
Once across the border you have to go to a station and get a scan done to make sure you do not have a fever. Here I met Jacob and Amalie, a couple from Denmark. They asked if I knew where I was going and I laughed and said no. They said they had missed the last bus as well and didn't know what they were planning. The lady helped us get to the right point and another guy helped us with a taxi. We paid way too much for the taxi but there was not much we could do. I decided to go to the same town they were going because we figured it would be cheaper but nope it wasn't.
I am glad I met Jacob and Amalie
because it made everything easier.
We took a taxi which should have been over 2 hours but was just under 1.5hrs because the people here drive 120 when the speed limit is only 50/hr to Granada. Once we found our hostel and checked. After checking in we went to get something to eat and ended up getting lost trying to find our hostel again. This was kind of fun because we got to see a lot of the city at night.
The next day I explored the town more stopped at a church and said my prayers. 
I decided to go into the capital Managua and did some exploring which was not interesting at all. I returned to Granada met back up with my new Nicaragua travel friends. We sat around and talked before dinner. For dinner I walked around for about an hour trying to decide what I wanted. I ended up going to a street vendor and got down local food and went to the square to eat it. I only got about 1/3 done before I saw a teenager who sat beside me. He said something that I couldn't hear and thought he was just like all the others around telling stuff. I realized after he was asking for food when I saw him looking in garbage cans for food. I have him my dinner even know I was hungry. This whole thing made me realize just how good we have it in Canada. I've learned so much on this trip about myself and the world around me, I only hope to take that back home with me and used it in my life. One thing I know for sure is I don't need the best of anything and I don't need Starbucks twice a day or go to Future Shop, there are other things in life to spend my money on like giving back. I know I will still go to Starbuck and Future Shop, I just hope not as much.
After my outing on the town I went to bed.
The todayJacob and Amalie
And I went to Reserva Natural Volcan Mombach. 
I got to see my first Volcano and the view was spectacular. The hike to get to the trail on the other hand was not. I am so happy that I run when I'm at home because it has made my leg strong and I certainly have needed that on this trip. Once we got off the bus we decided to pay the fifty cents to take a taxi 
but that only got us a few kilometres to the first entrance after which we had to walk up the volcano and the path was very steep, thankfully someone stop and picked us up and drive up to the next stop, we were so grateful because it would have been a good half hour walk. The next leg up the volcano took us an hour but it was worth it to see the view. 
To get to the top it took us just over an hour because of how steep the walk was. Once at the top we took the trails through the cloud forest until we got to the open viewing point where we could see the crater.
I enjoyed the hike but it was time to rest and eat dinner. After dinner we sat around and I talked to the people in my dorm room and heard all their stories and told mine. We have each other pointers of what to see in the countries we had visited. I love hearing everyone's travel stories and learning about them as a person.
The hydro ended up going out for just over an hour so my new travel buddies and another lady I meant and I went for some ice cream and waited for the hydro to turn back on.
The rest of my evening was just sitting around talking to people at the hostel.
I am so happy I came on this trip because I have had an opportunity to see a world I had only heard about and see for myself if the Countries were unsafe. What I found out is that the local people are some of the nicest I have met and the surroundings are beautiful. I suggest anyone who has fear coming to Central America to put those fears aside and come and visit. You will fall in love, I grantee that much to you.
Well so long, and sorry my posts are long but I have been enjoying this trip and do not want it to end.
Well wishes to everyone,
Jessi :)
Some more pictures:
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