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A Typical
Week in Nicaragua
(please click
here for a printable PDF version)
Teams are
usually scheduled from Saturday to Saturday. Flights from the US
into Augusto C. Sandino International Airport in Managua arrive
from lunch through early evening. Teams are met by El Ayudante
staff with transportation after they claim luggage and clear
customs. Luggage in loaded and the team departs for Leon (2 hour
drive) or Matagalpa (2 hour and 45 minute drive).
Sunday’s
schedule includes attending/serving at a local church and
preparing for the week’s ministry. Monday through Thursday, team
ministry is determined by the team considering their gifts, yet
strategically coordinated to build on the ministry of previous
teams. Supplies and funding for the week’s ministry is
provided by the team. Friday after breakfast, teams leave
Leon or Matagalpa to tour Nicaragua. Potential tour sites
include Masaya Volcano National Park, Lake Nicaragua, and the
Managua zip-line over the lagoon of an inactive volcano.
Shopping for local crafts at Masaya or Managua is also included
in the day’s events.
Hotel options
for Friday (the last) night in Managua include the Camino Real
which is three minutes from the airport and offers a continental
breakfast and transportation to the airport as part of their
package of $65 + 15% taxes per night for a double room. Special
rates are also available for El Ayudante teams at the
Intercontinental Metrocentro and Best Western.
El Ayudante’s
fee for the week for both Leon and Matagalpa is $425. In Leon
and Matagalpa, this includes everything you need (except
ministry funds) from the time you arrive in Leon/Matagalpa until
the time that you leave on Friday morning for a day of
touring/shopping.
In Leon, this
fee covers lodging (sheets and towels provided), three meals a
day prepared at the team house (plus one dinner at a local café
on the Pacific Ocean or downtown Leon), translators,
transportation, and purified water.
In Matagalpa,
the $425 team fee includes lodging at a local hotel until the
team house is completed, all meals (breakfast/dinner at
hotel—lunch provided either downtown Matagalpa or at the site of
ministry), translators, transportation and purified water.
Clothes can be washed by hotel personnel for a small fee. Snacks
can be purchased along with soft drinks at the hotel, paid for
by the team member.
If a team
stays extra days, additional fees are required. Each
team member is responsible for snacks and meals while traveling
to and from Leon or Matagalpa.
Sample Team
Budget
*A cell phone
will be provided to each team which can be called from the US.
Incoming calls are free to the assigned cell phone, but are
charged to the US caller. Teams can purchase time for the cell
phone in Leon and Matagalpa to make calls back to the US. The
team house in Leon has wireless internet access for those who
bring lap-tops. In Matagalpa, the hotel being utilized has
internet access for a slight fee. A land line is also available
at this hotel. Teams also have opportunities to communicate to
the US from internet cafes in both cities.
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