Nicaragua Day 3

Today was a super busy day like the last two, but still it was so much fun!! Last night we stayed in a really fachento (classy/fancy) hotel, The Real Intercontinental. It was crazy!! This morning we had an amazing breakfast consisting of Gallopinto and scrambled eggs, and lots of fruit! The pineapple here is so good, I feel like I'm in heaven!! HAHA :) Today wasn't the same without Saia and Line, and we miss them and hope that there journey home was pleasant!

First, we went to La Fuente, this is where Cameron lived for six months and Cameron and his companion Justin Su'a were the first missionaries to live in this area. Part of the area was Reparto Schick/18 de Mayo, this is the most dangerous neighborhood in the whole country! Don't worry mom, we didn't go in!

Here is the house Cameron lived in with both Su'a and Jared Benson.



It was the worst house Cameron lived in during his whole mission, rats used to crawl in through the slats in the window. The family that lived in the house next door loved when the missionaries lived here. We got the chance to visit with them and once again they were so excited to see Elder Cook.

Here is El Don, his poor wife is dying with cancer and she is super sick so we weren't able to visit with her.



Next we went to La Union to try to find crespas, with no luck! Sorry Benson!

We made our way to Jinotepe, it was a pretty drive and you could feel the temperature drop the higher we got, it was very fresca! Cameron served as a Zone Leader in Jinotepe with Elder Hirshi. We visited a family that owns a bakery by the church, they were very friendly and excited to see Cameron. Next we visited the Cortez family that Cameron and Hirshi baptized. When Cameron was on his mission he gave Ms. Cortez a hymnal and she told Cameron that while she was at church on Sunday she read the message that he wrote in there and it made her think of how blessed she was that the elders stopped by her house to teach her and her family.

Here is Ms. Cortez and her kids. Cameron baptized both the daughter and the mom, the boy was too young at the time. The other photo is the family's backyard, notice the chickens, they aren't pets...



We walked around the market in Jinotepe it was crazy.



The members were so excited when the church in Jinotepe was finally built, they no longer had to hold church in a member's house. Here is the back patio, this guy didn't want to sell his house so they just built around it!



Next we were on the road to, Catarina. Catarina is in the more artsy part of Nicaruagua. We were able to sit and look out at the Lagoon, there were some Nica's playing music in the background, we ate a churro, and fed some random dogs that wouldn't leave us alone. It was very romantic! HAHA

The beautiful view!


The dogs we fed. The dogs here are gross and dirty, yet I still want to pet them every time I see them!! Cameron doesn't let me, just in case they have a disease or something...




Here is a video of the Nica's and they're music.




Next we went to Masaya, this was Cameron's very first area and he can't really remember the people so we didn't visit anyone here. We went to the market and bought some really neat paintings and a vase. We paid a guy to watch a car and then another guy followed us in the market like we needed help, it was kind of annoying. When we were finished shopping, he asked for a tip, Cameron gave him 20 cords and the guys said that it wasn't enough so Cameron took it back, the guy was kinda mad, but really we didn't need his help so whatever I guess.

There was a funeral while we were there. They put the body in this carriage and walk around town, family and friends of the passed on person follow the cart as sort of a memorial to the person. It's kinda wierd but still a cool thing to see!!



We happened to drive by this Nursing home. I guess this is where I would work if we lived here.




Next, we made the drive to Granada which is where we are staying the night. The next part of our trip we will be doing more touristy stuff, but it should still be fun and we are super excited! Tonight we walked around Central Park and looked at the old architecture. Granada was settled by Spaniards so the buildings are really cool and usually painted bright colors. We ate dinner at a little Italian restaurant, it wasn't true Italian, it was more Latino Italian but it was still good!

Here is Cameron next to Granada's Cathedral.




Here is the courtyard of one of the hotels. The hotel is built around the garden, the hotel used to be someone's house, I want a garden like this in my house some day!!




Tomorrow should be another exciting day in our Nica adventure! I'll try to update everyone!!
Oh and it turns out that we are staying in the same hotel that the Benson's stayed at when Jared sat on the bedspread and got those crazy bug bites, Cameron and I both sat on the bedspread... lets hope we don't get any crazy bug bites!!