Anyway, so we took a picture with that family, then took a molto (a cool little 3-wheeled contraption... kind of like what Nacho Libre drives when he's going into the city :) ) back to Lester's house and visited with him for a while. He's actually learning English! And speaks really well! So I was able to communicate which was very refreshing! Haha then we went back to Masatepe to eat lunch with the Castellons again. Seriously, they fed us 3 delicious meals. It was so sweet of them! Then one of Brock's companions from Nicaragua, Elder Mendoza, came over! We dropped Kelly off at a babysitter's and headed for the Volcano!!!!
Did I mention yet that Nicaragua is like called the land of many lakes and volcanoes? They have them EVERYWHERE! But the most famous one is the Masaya volcano. It is still active, but very calm. They actually have a Visitor's Center/Museum halfway up it, and a parking lot at the top of it! It's the only active volcano in the world that you can just drive all the way up to the top. But we decided to hike! Haha so we took a bus to the base and began our trek! The scenery was beautiful and there were tons of random patches of huge volcanic rock! It was so cool!
So forever later, we made it to the Visitor's Center. We walked around, took pictures, bought post cards, bought water bottles, etc. So then I thought we were almost there. So we left again. And we walked. And walked. And walked.... and walked..... And then Norman said we're about halfway! And we were all like WHAT?! And terribly exhausted! Hahaha so, we did the next logical thing to do. Hitchhike! I was like, uh... what? So this truck drove by and they all stuck out their thumbs. He pulled over and yes, we climbed into the bed of the truck and rode the rest of the way up the mountaint to the mouth of the giant volcano. It was crazy!
So we got to the top and looked down inside. You could smell the sulfur, feel the heat, hear the rumbling, see the steam..... Looking into an active volcano! The whole time I was like, "Okay, don't think of Dante's Peak. DON'T think of Dante's Peak." Hahaha it was kinda scary! But there were quite a few tourists up there so I felt pretty safe. We took a million pictures and it was so cool! Not to mention the view out over Nicaragua- that was pretty too! From the top of a volcano! Hahaha :) So after spending like 45 minutes or so at the top of the volcano, that same truck driver let us ride all the way back down too. He was super nice!
So then Mendoza went home, but we still wanted to go see a beautiful crater lake called Catarina. It took us a while to find some buses and by the time we made it out there it was pretty dark. But we finally got there and got to look over the beautiful lake. In my opinion, there are not very many things in life more beautiful than a calm lake on a summery night just reflecting the moon and stars. It was breathtaking. I could have sat there staring at it forever! But we did have to get back :) So we headed back and got a taxi. Saying bye to the Castellons was really hard- they were some of Brock's very closest friends in Nicaragua. Who knows if we'll see them again? Hopefully. They really are wonderful people that I will definitely never forget!
So then the taxi took us back to Jinotepe and we realized we were super hungry! So we walked over to a little Pizza place that was across from our Hotel. K, funniest thing ever! Apparently, no one outside the US knows how to eat pizza. Every single person in the restaurant was using a fork and knife! What? Hahaha it was so funny to watch. At least they have pizza though. And it was pretty good too! Nothing like Papa John's, but definitely tasty! We ordered big ham and cheese calzones. Delicious :)
Then we went back to the hotel and crashed. Instantly asleep! Haha it had been a long and tiring day, but also a wonderful one!
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