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Three dancing couples at the poetry festival of Granada

It's the symbol of Nicaragua

Classic

Shots in the market, Leon

Nicaragua!

Views of Leon

Atop the cathedral in Leon

Women with their goods and aprons

Leon, Nicaragua

Long, slow day of work

Volcan La Concepcion from the boat

wind farm not far off the shore of Lake Nicaragua

Poneloya beach, cool steps

fruit art. Michael found worms in the purple one

a horseshoe crab.

a children's school for the arts in Granada (they were giving this guy a monocle)

sunset in Granada from the belltower

they were pretty ambitious with the liquor in this drink...

a churchly shot

the vibrant colors of Granada

Granada, Nicaragua

climbing Volcan Maderas on Isla de Ometepe....
though my expression doesn't show it, this trail was actually fun, especially when we slid/surfed on some parts

we were completely enveloped in clouds on this trek down into the laguna of the volcano (notice the two figures down below)

Lunch time, with the local kids running (or rolling) around

Renting bicycles for the day

¡¡¡Photos Finally

We wanted to follow this cake, wherever it was going, but the little girl was pretty secretive. Although, we were wondering why a decorative table leg of some sort was presented in the middle...

And for some reason, this computer is only posting vertical photos, so here is a shot of Volcan Conception on Isla de Ometepe, the larger and active of the twin volcanoes.

*more photos when we find a cooperative computer...

Highlights and Mixups

Just tonight we arrived safely back in Costa Rica. It was much more exciting going from CR to Nicaragua than from Nica back to CR, since everything is twice as expensive here, but it is what it is and there are reasons for that. We're only here to rest a bit before making our way east to Panama.


We took some Spanish classes in León, Nicaragua for a week, which I know isn't nearly enough time, but there were many indicators letting us know that we needed to move on. Spanish is sort-of easy, until you realize that all the words are like chameleons and each one can change into a similar-but-different word given the context, like it blends in to its surroundings... For some reason I understand it well in my mind and can construct conversational sentences, but as soon as I open my mouth I get distracted by the sound of my own voice and suddenly get lost. Also, eye contact does not help the distractedness. So I find myself staring up at the ceiling as I concentrate to slowly form sentences or even remember words, and even then I have a 50% success rate at getting across my intentions... The non-successful interactions? Well, one time in particular at a market in León, we asked to see some aprons and the women (a mother and daughter duo) dug around for a while in their piles of merchandise and nonchalantly presented us with their collection of thongs, pulling each one out so we could see it in further detail. We all had a good laugh about it afterward at least.


Nicaragua has a good bit of spirit and it seems any reason is a good reason to celebrate something or another. Michael and I were fortunate enough to see four firework shows in the span of three weeks, and I bet we would've seen more if we didn't spend one of those weeks tucked away in the wilderness of Isla de Ometepe, where things move more slowly than the mainland.


While taking spanish classes, we stayed with a family in León who had two kids, a dog, a pregnant cat and a rabbit. The family was nice, though we didn't really get to talk to them much. They hosted more people than us and so it seemed more like a guest house than anything, and I got the feeling that we (the foreigners) seemed to impose on the main spaces of the house while the family hunkered down in other rooms, then we would trade places and back and forth. Their youngest son though, Hildebando (8), was all about talking and I'd say that his level of English comprehension was comparable to my level of Spanish comprehension and in the afternoons we'd work on our homework together, like learning the names of body parts and singing our ABCs.

In the cities, we would walk around the streets and admire all the old colonial style architecture... and suddenly realize that within 20 feet our sidewalk that could've supported four people comfortably suddenly shrank to a tight squeeze for one person, like there was no 90 degree angle in the entire city (which ironically all are laid out on a grid).

We happily found ourselves in the middle of an international poetry festival on our return visit to Granada and sat for hours listening to poets from mostly Latin America, but many other places as well. We sat down on the edge of the Central Park at night, eating our street food served in banana leaves and trying to make out as many words as we could in these fiery and dramatically-spoken poems; though without rational context, I couldn't use my powers of association and I eventually gave up and simply listened to the rhythm and play of the sounds in the words.

I'm leaving with a fondness for Nicaragua, for all its beauty, quirks and richness. Our experiences were sometimes bizarre and usually memorable, or vice versa.

A Poem

A question of serentiy arises to mind
A thought of solitude explores the empty streets
Dark, dank, lonely are the nights
for those who sleep in la calle
amidst plastic bags & organic refuse
Diesel fumes discolor brightly painted gems
of architectural wonder
reaching to the past of conquest
and religion
one trumps the other
and the strongest sword wins
The people are left squalid and demeaned
Candle light flickers dimly through broken glass
the flourescent light above patiently waiting to be replaced
someday
The barefood child, with maybe two shirts and a pair of pants
watches
through sparkling windows
sautéed vegetables, slow roasted chicken
the clinking of wine glasses, ¡Salud!
The child is pushed away
by the privately hired security guards
Only money is allowed here
From a friendly tourist couple, the child begs for a meal
Simple, filling, cheap, if only it were this easy every night
she thinks
Some find their way
The grafitti artist sells brilliant simple paintings
on cardboard in the street
$1.50 each for 10 minutes of work
Not too bad, paid for doing art
The observant poet thinks the same

The past is the past, but it informs the present
The future holds promise, if only there were time to dream
but the present demands work
books and art for later
education is expensive, and so daily life continues
The TV flickering and the bookstores closing
What's the point of a literate culture
if no one ever reads?
But positive development is slowly growing
the many colors remain vibrant
and lest one think that all is lost
remember
Smiles are many and youthful eyes shine bright

The Ramblers Continue

Well, lots has happened since we last posted something historic. So, in brief (the details you have to ask about over a coffee or a beer when we get home), we came to Léon by way of the wind. Somewhere around two weeks ago, we went to San Jose in order to catch a bus to Granada, Nicaragua to begin some Spanish study. When we arrived to the station, we learned that that specific bus did not stop in Granada, so we either would have to get off somewhere and take another bus or just go to a different place altogether. We decided on Rivas, which is near the border and is the stopping point to getting to the island Ometepe (see map below). Ometepe is a volcanic island in Lago de Nicaragua. There are two volcanoes that were formed some gazillion years ago, and over time, they rose out of the lake and then formed an isthmus between them. The more northern one is called La Concepción, which is bigger, steeper, and still active. The southern one is called Las Maderas and is no longer active, but is covered with thick jungle and has a lagoon at the top. They rise over 3,000 feet in that very short time. Shannon and I (with a guide and some other extranjeros) hiked to the top of Maderas. It took about 4.5 hours to reach the top, and though there was no view due to the trees, the jungle was amazing, gradually changing as the elevation rose. Both volcanoes are almost constantly enshrouded by clouds, which caused three things relevant for our hike: it was cold and wet arriba, the cloud was too thick to even see the other side of the lagoon at the top, and the trail from about half way up was gooshy mud pie that completely slathered your feet. But, as locals would say (although maybe not about hiking up a volcano), ¡vale la pena!

We stayed in a little eco permaculture farm/hostel that was owned by Italians. It´s an excellent place, and everything was great, except that Shannon got sick for a day and my shoes got nicked while they were drying from the mud adventure. Well, at least I still have some sandals. From there we went to Granada, which is a beautiful, touristy city where we stayed for three days. Now we are in Léon.

Léon is a university town (don´t get your hopes up - it´s real Nicaragua, not too touristy, and very dirty, as is the wont here). But it does have a rich feeling, and the history (both colonial and recent) has left indellible marks on the appearance and the people. The biggest cathedral in Central America is here, which is also the third biggest cathedral in Latin America (the first in Mexico, the second in Peru). We arrived Friday, stayed in a great little hostel that has free pancakes for breakfast and free organic coffee all day. One of the sad ironies about traveling in Central America has been the coffee. The normal, everyday coffee that people drink is of low quality and made weak. The high quality is all exported. However, you can find good coffee if you look for it, but the places that serve it are usually owned by ex-pats and cater to the foreigner. Yesterday, for example, while I was having a fresca (a juice drink with water and sugar, in this case a fruit, or actually a seed, that I have never heard of and still have no idea what it was besides tasty), an old man in a farmer´s hat came in and asked for a cafecito. The young guy behind the bar proceded to pour a package of instant coffee into a styrofoam cup and fill it with hot water. Well, call me naive, but I can´t help but wonder why, socioeconomically speaking, people have to buy prepackaged, low quality coffee that has been processed in another country when gobs of coffee is produced here, less than 100 miles away from the city. Okay, roasting and processing is a problem in a poor country (Nicaragua is apparently the second poorest country in the western hemisphere, after Haiti), but I wonder that people have not developed a taste for at least decent coffee.

Even in our little homestay, we are served instant coffee in the morning that was processed in Mexico. Which leads me to the homestay. Well, Shannon and I began taking Spanish classes on Monday, and began our homestay Sunday night. Our first night we were separated in the belief that we would be with a family by ourselves, speaking Spanish, and feeling, at least a little, like part of the family for brief spell. In both of our houses, there were other gringos staying there, and there were one or two women who worked in the house, actually doing most of the food preparation and cleaning. Since we clearly were not going to be alone, we joined each other in one house. But to call the experience a homestay is certainly a stretch. Technically, we are staying in home. Considering that there are other foreigners staying there with same intention of studying Spanish in school and living with a family (in total we are four right now), it is more like a guest house that they are running out of their home. Which is fine for what it is. But I think the English language needs a new word to describe more accurately the type of stay this is. The food is pretty good, the bed is quite uncomfortable, but there are a couple kids, 8 & 13, and the people are extremely friendly. So for one week, it's great. For two, well, I'll let you know next week. As for the classes, they are pretty good. For me, I quickly realized that I am almost beyond classes at this point (at least these classes) because I pretty much know all the grammar (of course I still make tons of mistakes). The problem is just speaking and using Spanish consistently, and the class has been good because I have learned a little and I am being forced to use it for 3.5 hours a day. Really what I need though is to go into the main square and have conversations with the old men who are former revolutionary Sandinistas (I met one yesterday who was interesting and friendly). Vamos a ver.

Nicaragua is very different from Costa Rica, ranging from the accent of the language to the feel of the cities to the state of the environment. I won't go into details right now but suffice it to say that trash (particularly the countless plastic bags that get used once and tossed away) is a rampant problem. People have no awareness of the problems that litter cause, and so nearly everyone just drops the waste into the street, grass, dirt, whereever, even if a rubbish pail is 3 feet away. It's a question of education and custom, two things are slow to change. The accent is a bit harder to understand than in Costa Rica, but I like the feeling of the cities much better. So until the next post, carry on, y ¡que les vayan bien!

photos of Providencia, Costa Rica

So, here are some shots of Providencia. Though we are in Nicaragua, these are lovely, so we wanted to share them with y'all. Take care.

Shannon on the cable walk

Cable walking in the mountains

Atop the tree staple climb

Beginning the tree staple climb

The bouldering wall

Studious young girls

view of Providencia

Mmm, bananas

Image of the School

We've arrived in swealtering Nicaragua. The cities here are beautiful, old, and full of plastic bags in all stages of decomposition. All the women wear frilly aprons with more lace than fabric and people constantly try to sell you little food treats or cold drinks while you wait for the bus, or while you wait on the bus, or even if you're just walking by. Upon entering this country, our intentions of what to do and where to go seemed to change by the minute... and we found ourselves on the ferry to Isla de Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua. Its fun to abandon plans and make new ones all the time, and abandon those, and on and on. Todo es possible. We stayed for five days lounging in hammocks and exploring the island by bicycle, getting sick and recovering, hiking up the dormant volcano, and playing with a baby monkey.

We've now meandered north, back on the mainland, and hopefully will post photos soon.
Our route took us to Granada and now to Leon, the university town.

Everything is so colorful here.
-s