I can tell you a lot of great stories about Nicaragua, but I’d especially love to share this one. As I sit on the chicken bus, traveling from Granada to Léon, I watch all the houses on the side of the road pass us by. It’s a “cozy” ride, for I’m squeezed tightly between my boyfriend and a Nica (inhabitant of Nicaragua). I see small, simple, but colorful homes that all have a hammock out front. I take in the view of these houses and observe how various people enjoy their siesta from the comfort of their hammock, while their dog or pig guards the front yard. As we drive, the man sitting next to me asks me where I'm from. Our conversation starts in English, but he doesn't seem to speak it very well. Luckily I speak Spanish and love to practice with the locals. During the two hour drive to Léon, we talk about his country and he teaches me some Nicaraguan Slang. "Diacachimba" becomes my favorite word. When you look it up on the internet you’ll find that this amazing word translates to "awesome", but it means so much more to the Nicas. “Día” means “day” in Spanish and “Diacachimba” is about the joy you feel for the fact that you get to open your eyes in the morning and take in the sun light, it’s about the delight that fills you up when you start your day and it’s about the bliss and gratitude you feel for living in this beautiful country. To put it simply: it’s about the joy of being alive. Once we arrive in Léon I immediately understand why all the locals had told me that Léon is called “La ciudad de calor”, which means: “The city of heat”. Before arriving here I couldn’t have imagined that it would be hotter in Léon than in the other places I had visited. It was 32 degrees Celsius in San Juan del Sur and 35 in Granada. How much hotter could it get? Well… I can tell you this… Léon truly is the city of heat. Walking through the streets felt like walking towards a hairdryer blowing hot air straight onto us as the shattering sun pounded on our sweaty heads. Even though the heat was extreme, we very much enjoyed this city. The architecture is beautiful and the tiny markets full of life. Léon is so colorful and the people are so “Diacachimba”, it almost makes you forget how sweaty you are when you’re talking to them. After having spent a few nights in Léon, we find ourselves getting ready for one of the most exciting things I have ever done: a camping and hiking trip on a volcano! I’m sure you can imagine how little sleep we got in, what felt like, the hottest city on earth in a room with just one single fan. But that certainly didn’t stifle our excitement. When the alarm went off as early as five o’clock in the morning we were so excited to start our day: Diacachimba baby! We greet our traveling companions at the main house on “Volcano Day” and we all pack our backpacks with camping equipment, food and drinks. After that, we hop on a pick-up van that takes us to the foot of the Télica volcano. It’s still really early so the heat hasn’t gotten to us. Yet. We start our hike and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. Our guide tells us about the “Gringo tree”, a tree that loses its bark when it’s out in the sun. It’s kind of similar to “Gringos” – white people – and their skin peeling off after getting a nasty sun burn. And an interesting fact: “Gringo skin” makes for a nice cup of tea. But don’t worry, none of the Gringos on this trip were hurt in the process, our guide was talking about the bark here. As our journey continues, so does the sun continue to rise. Meanwhile the paths become more challenging as they get steeper and steeper. I’m sure you can imagine, it was quite difficult to keep things moving. We hopped from one shadow to the next, where we could recharge for the next episode. After a few hours of hiking, the guide told us to go find some wood for the bonfire we would be making that night, so we all began to search for branches during the remainder of the hike. Side note: these branches were not to be mistaken for bones of wild horses that died there… After another hour had passed we finally neared the top of the volcano. Just a few more steps and there it was: our camping spot! While setting up our tents – with the heat in Léon still fresh in our minds – we agreed to leave off the upper tent canvas so that we could see the stars that night. Little did we know that it would get very cold up there once the sun went down! Watching the sunset on top of that volcano was like nothing I had ever experienced before. I have never felt more alive than I did in that very moment. As I was sitting there, I took it all in: the world around me and the world within me. I let the day I had fully sink in: a day of hiking and struggling, a day of learning about the hidden treasures in Nicaraguan nature, a day of practicing my Spanish. It was the kind of day that makes you feel immensely grateful for that moment your ice cold Toña (local beer) hits your tongue as you look out over the mountain top, the joy you experience while preparing a meal over a campfire with complete strangers, the freedom you feel when camping in nature. As I sit on that mountain top, next to the love of my life, I watch the sun set and I see the stars take over the sky. At night my love and I snuggle up in our sleeping bags and keep each other warm until the sun comes up and takes our breath away yet again. And in that moment it all comes down to that one thing I learned back on the chicken bus, that enormous wave of gratitude, the joy of being alive: Diacachimba!