Nicaragua (4-Week Sample Itinerary)

The following is a sample itinerary based on past courses; actual itineraries may vary.
Week One Our course begins at an organic coffee cooperative on the side of a lush volcano, learning about the cooperative and one another. We will spend our time setting collective and individual goals, learning about travel and about our host country, bonding as a group, and acclimating ourselves to this new place and new pace. We then head over to an impressive permaculture center working to support food security on the island. We will learn about the techniques they use and get our hands dirty and back sweaty putting knowledge into practice. This will also be the site of our first short homestay.
Week Two After departing from the Island and traveling north by way of the Pan-American highway to the city of Esteli, we will spend part of a day there getting ready to walk to our next destination! We will be following the migration route once tread by families fleeing the city which was under attack by the country’s former dictator, Somoza, who’s wrath fell upon them full force after there had been successful organized rebel uprisings which preceded the eventual overthrow of the Somoza government in 1978. We will trek by day and stay with families along the way who have kindly offered to provide us with shelter from the rainy nights, rest for our tired feet, food for our bellies and food for thought by way of their powerful testimonies.
Week Three On our third and last day of the trek we reach our destination, El Lagartillo. This town, which was tragically affected during the war, is filled with charismatic, radical individuals who are excited to welcome us into their homes and share their lives, stories, and ideas with us. They have a history of international solidarity work and have started a local co-op that runs a small Spanish school where you will be studying Spanish. It will also be our second homestay of the course. This will be an extended two-week opportunity to integrate yourself with very special families and an incredibly unique community. In the early morning you may choose to work in the fields with your homestay family. During the day, you will study Spanish and participate in an integrated permaculture service project, and in the evenings spend time with your new families in their humble solar-powered homes. In our free time, students might wish to play music with the local band, watch plays put on by their socially-conscious theater troop, help build a cob home, or take a walk to swim in a gorgeous waterfall. On the weekend we may have the opportunity to take a water adventure in the Somoto Canyon, or visit a natural reserve about 15 km south of Esteli. The tiny, picturesque town of La Garnacha is well known for its efforts to strengthen its own economy through community work, diversification of crops, and its highly specialized production of goat milk and cheese.
Week Four Our next stop is San Marcos where the inspiring workers of Los Quinchos meet us. Los Quinchos is a radical organization that works with the kids who live in La Chureca, the largest city dump in Central America. They have three sites where kids are moved through a progression where they learn self-esteem and self-love, community integration, and finally skills for employment. We visit the sites where these children now live, learn about the unique history and theories of this organization, then have some time for longer conversations and getting to know one another on a backpacking trip with the youth.