Costa Rica Day 5

On Thursday we woke up super early to go to Nicaragua!

Here we are at the Nicaraguan boarder.

One of our first stops was at a lookout spot in Masaya. The view overlooked Apoyo Crater Lake. 

As we were leaving the city there were people flooding the streets and jumping on to cars. If I understood the tour guide correctly, they were welcoming home Oscar Duarte, a Nicaraguan born Costa Rica soccer player. 

We drove up to Masaya Volcano National Park where we got to stand at the edge of a volcano. Unfortunately, it was difficult to see anything exciting because of the sulfur emitted by the volcano. 

We stopped for lunch which was good, but I rushed through it in order to go shopping! Everything is very cheap in Nicaragua. I bought two hammocks for $30. I'm glad I bought most of my souvenirs in Nicaragua!

There were two brothers from Costa Rica that were on the tour. They were about my age so I had fun talking to them during lunch and while shopping. When they saw my giant bag of stuff I bought, I was like, "Yeah, I'm a shopaholic." They found the word very amusing and even asked me later, "what was the word you said? Shopaholic?" LOL. I realized that my American consumerism mentality is soooo different than the Costa Rican values of simple living and environmental sustainability.

After we went shopping we got on the bus and drove to Granada. We took a boat ride to look at the little mansions located on tiny islands in Lake Nicaragua. 

Then we walked around the city of Granda. I LOVED the colorful buildings. I wish I could have spent more time exploring!

Then it was time for our 4 hour journey back to Costa Rica. 

One of the main reasons why we wanted to go to Nicaragua was to get another stamp on our passports. Friends and family members at home "warned" us that Nicaragua was dangerous. We were a little nervous to go because we didn't know what to expect. We asked a lot of Costa Ricans if they felt save in Nicaragua and everyone said we should go. In the end, I'm so glad we went! Because we were part of a tour and we stuck to tourist spots I didn't feel unsafe at all!

My Nicaraguan souvenirs:

Postcards

I think postcards are the best souvenirs. I like buying them for myself from places I've visited as well as receiving them from my friends and family while they're traveling. Postcards are wonderful for many reasons...

• They're cheap. They're usually less than 50 cents!
• They are small and easy to pack if you want to bring one home for yourself.
• They a little tiny bit educational. Often, they have a little tid bit of information on the back.
• They're easy to store. I keep mine in a photo album.

Here are some postcards I have received from friends over the years.

From my friend Jay while in Tahiti (2008)


From Sarah and Cathy while in New York (2009)


From Myles while in Washington D.C. (2009)


I especially love this postcard from Myles because of what was on the back... NOTHING! I guess he didn't realize people usually write a little message on the left side of the postcard. Instead, he just wrote my address (I don't live there any more, so don't stalk me!). He actually sent me several postcards during his trip, all without a message on the back. So cute! And sooooo "Myles."

Day 7

"How do you feel about going home tomorrow?" my roommate asked as we were layering on clothing and preparing for a morning bike ride.

After a lonely day six, I woke up feeling ready to go home. "I had a good time in Europe, I'm dreading the travel back home, but I'm anxious to be home," I replied.

But throughout the day, my desire to go home turned into dread! I didn't want to leave! I loved Prague too much.

After breakfast, we went on a bike tour through the narrow, bumpy streets of Prague. It was difficult because there was about 15 of us wandering through the crowded roads. Plus, the cobblestones made the ride extremely bumpy! But this was an excellent way to see much of the beautiful city at just the right pace.


One of my favorite thing to see on the bike tour was sculptures by the controversial artist, David Cerney. We saw three of his sculptures on our tour.

The first one we saw was this man, probably Sigmund Freud hanging outside of a building.



The second one we saw were these giant babies. These ones were in Kampa Park. From Kampa Park, you can see Prague's TV tower in the distance. These babies crawl on that tower (I was unable to see this) possibly suggesting that babies these days are raised by the TV.





The third one we saw were these guys proudly peeing in a pool shaped like the Czech Republic. The sculpture was broken at the time, but you are able to text a message to a certain number and they will move their hips to pee that message.


We also rode by the Lennon Wall again.

Next to the Lennon Wall, there is a little gate with a bunch of padlocks locked to it. People in love come to this gate, lock a padlock on the gate, and then throw the key into the river below.



The bike tour ended around 1pm. By then, we were starving. I went with a small group of people to eat at a nice restaurant in the Palladium Mall. I ordered the same thing I had for dinner the first night I arrived in Prague. It was so salty and delicious! Yummmmmmmmmmmm!



Then, we were going to all go to a museum together. But first, me and another person wanted to stop by our hotel to use the restroom. We were supposed to all meet in the lobby in like 10 minutes. I was down there, waiting... for like 20 minutes. Apparently the two girls misunderstood me and just went on to the museum we were supposed to go to. And the guy who also had to use the bathroom ended up falling asleep in his room. I got tired of waiting plus I was anxious to get the most out of my last day in Prague, so I ventured out on my own.

I first stopped by a Salvador Dali exhibit in Old Town Square. I wasn't able to take pictures though.

Then I walked across the Charles Bridge where locals sell artwork and jewelry. I bought some photos of the Lennon Wall (as it used to be) for my brother.

By then, it was already almost dinner time. Our group met in the hotel lobby so that we could walk over to a restaurant and have a traditional Czech dinner. This time, the food was just okay. There was a lot of meat, which isn't my favorite thing to eat.

There was live traditional Czech entertainment. At the end of our meal, the dancers picked people from the table to join them in their dancing. One creepy-ish guy came over to our table to pick a partner. Immediately, all the girls pulled out their cell phones and pretended to be busy texting. I was too slow. He picked me to join him! Ahhh! But it was fun!



I meandered through the streets taking in everything! I especially love the way Prague looks in the evening, after the sun sets but before it gets completely dark. I just wanted to memorize everything.

When I got back to the hotel, I reluctantly began packing. That was it. My trip was over. :(

My roommate fell asleep while I was packing, so I didn't even get to say good bye.

I went to bed around midnight and tossed and turned all night dreading the next day.