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[caguide]

All the guides except the group leaders are volunteers from abroad all profits go to the charities...intensive eco tours 1 to 6 days

Le ón/Volunteer in Le ón

Posted by calanguagetours on 28 February, 2005 - 16:32.

www.nicaliving.com/node/view/569


True! If you don't mind the heat, Le ón is the perfect place to settle, as
you say the Beach gets very boring, unless you are running a hotel there
or something like that, very different. Some folks come to Costa Rica, buy
a beachfront condo and in a year they are going stir crazy with nothing to
do. A combo of Surf and Turf is always the best..if you want to volunteer
and help the street kids contact in Le ón "Quetzaltrekkers" who use
volunteer guides who are travelling or residing in the area, you don't get
paid but you get to discover a lot of Nicaragua at no cost to you..the
proceeds from the travellers are donated to the project. Anyone who
requires assistance in making reservations or volunteering contact them,
this is a recent Bloq on the Quetzal Trekkers:

"The city of Leon is similar to its sister city Grenada in many ways. Lots
of Cathedrals, old Spanish architecture and lots of mellow people. What
really distinguishes the two old Spanish cities is the many massive
volcanoes set to the north-east of Leon known as the Cordillera Los
Maribios.It's hard to ignore them and their presence to me was a draw
difficult to be ignored. My first stop after reaching Leon from the
Managua airport was quetzaltrekkers <
www.quetzaltrekkers.com/nica.htm> a charity that supports itself
and helps the street kids of Leon by conducting volcano hikes in the
northwest part of the country from Leon up to Cosiguina in the far
northwest corner of the country. Their next available hike was to Volcan
Telica to the north of Leon.Telica is not the largest of the volcanoes in
the area at 1060 meters but one of the most active and like a bratty
little sister she makes her self known on a frequent basis with regular
eruptions.The volcano is very visible from leon. Its the one with a light
tan color and a well shapped cone. We planned to meet Sunday morning at
6AM to start the hike which would take us to the top with an overnight
stay and then return Monday afternoon. We left Leon by bus and approached
the Volcano from the town of San Jacinto which took us through some
bubbling sulfuric mud pits.Our welcoming party there were three little
girls who guided us around the boiling pits in their bear feet all the
while warning us about where to step with our hiking boots.The trek took
us up through a high valley with gorgeous views of the corn fields and low
valleys stretched out below us. Several times on the dirt road we had to
stand aside for oxen drawn wagons making their way down to the main road
with their loads of corn. Six hours later after a much welcomed lunch
break we came up over a ridge to a sudden unexpected confrontation with
the looming,smoking mouth of Telica.We dropped down into a small valley
below Telica, left our packs at the campsite, made our way up to the open
lips of the beast and stared in, in amazement at the fire in the hole way-
way down.The moths had finally come to the flame.At that vantage point
there are also outstanding views of the valleys below and Volcan San
Cristobal to the north. That night after a very fine sundown (aren ’t they
all),and a roaring fire to ward off the chill, I was treated to my first
view of the Southern Cross constellation. Sunrise was amazing with the sun
coming over the ridge, first hitting the Volcano in constantly changing
shades of pink (see the pictures). In the morning we packed up for the
slightly less arduous downhill hike back to San Jacinto and lunch at the
local restaurant. You can contact quetzaltrekkers at a very fine group who
use volunteers as guides and help support the homeless street kids of Leon
Kevin www.nicastylez.com/soop/for...orum_posts.asp
(view the photos of Kevin's trek) Today in El Salvador I ran into Brian
Cleveland from the UK who has been volunteering with Quetzaltrekkers over
in Quetzaltenanago, Guatemala for 6 months and is heading to Le ón via
Honduras Brian's e mail is

This is a good deal for peersons who have basic skills in the area of eco
tourism or just plain stamina, Spanish fluency not required plus you can
home stay in Le ón if you volunteer. For more detailed information on
Nicaragua and the rest of Central America and for information & assistance
if volunteering e mail me

Travel Bloqs:

www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/caguide/
www.trekshare.com/members/c...guagetours/

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_________________
Donald T. Lee
Central American Travel Specialist
http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/caguide/