Epistle #1 - Arrival in Managua Feb 8-9
Hi all
I'm about to spend my 2nd night at Managua Backpackers' Hostel and tomorrow leave to take the "chicken" bus to Leon. I had a marathon journey here with a 19-hr layover in Mexico City airport, alleviated by taking transit into the centre and looking around. On the plane I enjoyed a clear view of Mt St. Helen's crater, Mt. Rainier and all the ridges, canyons and dry plains of the southwestern states and Mexico.
Last time I was in Mexico City was in '72 when it had 12 million people. I think it is up to 20 million now and the infrastructure hasn't improved. Had some tacos and chorros from a safe-looking cafe and 4 hours later a bit of regret in the washroom, but seem OK now. While trying to doze curled around armrests of lightly padded chairs I was adapted by a Japanese woman who lost her flight when she turned up at the gate only 20 minutes before. I tried to help as interpreter but in the end she faced having to buy another ticket to Tokyo for USD$2500+.
Today Brian (Toronto) and I walked a long way from the hostel down to badly polluted Lake Managua. We passed by countless "Trees of Life"; towering curlicue sculptures of metal, the personal project of Nicaragua's Vice-president coincidentally married to the President. A US aid worker on the plane told me they coast USD$30,000 each + ongoing costs of illumination and personal guards (everything is guarded in Nicaragua). Brian and I made a good team; he had a cell phone with gps and I speak Spanish.
At the airport I bought USD$20 of Cordobas @ 20C/1USD (the official govt rate) and then at the hostel another 50USD at 30C/1USD (the unofficial, but still legal rate). Most places will happily accept USD as well as Cordobas, a bad sign for the local economy. It is very poor here, with an unsettling juxtaposition of fast food chains / street vendors, modern supermarkets / hovels, fancy new cars / garbage & broken sidewalks.
Will write again a bit further down the road....
love Alison
Hi all
I'm about to spend my 2nd night at Managua Backpackers' Hostel and tomorrow leave to take the "chicken" bus to Leon. I had a marathon journey here with a 19-hr layover in Mexico City airport, alleviated by taking transit into the centre and looking around. On the plane I enjoyed a clear view of Mt St. Helen's crater, Mt. Rainier and all the ridges, canyons and dry plains of the southwestern states and Mexico.
Last time I was in Mexico City was in '72 when it had 12 million people. I think it is up to 20 million now and the infrastructure hasn't improved. Had some tacos and chorros from a safe-looking cafe and 4 hours later a bit of regret in the washroom, but seem OK now. While trying to doze curled around armrests of lightly padded chairs I was adapted by a Japanese woman who lost her flight when she turned up at the gate only 20 minutes before. I tried to help as interpreter but in the end she faced having to buy another ticket to Tokyo for USD$2500+.
Today Brian (Toronto) and I walked a long way from the hostel down to badly polluted Lake Managua. We passed by countless "Trees of Life"; towering curlicue sculptures of metal, the personal project of Nicaragua's Vice-president coincidentally married to the President. A US aid worker on the plane told me they coast USD$30,000 each + ongoing costs of illumination and personal guards (everything is guarded in Nicaragua). Brian and I made a good team; he had a cell phone with gps and I speak Spanish.
At the airport I bought USD$20 of Cordobas @ 20C/1USD (the official govt rate) and then at the hostel another 50USD at 30C/1USD (the unofficial, but still legal rate). Most places will happily accept USD as well as Cordobas, a bad sign for the local economy. It is very poor here, with an unsettling juxtaposition of fast food chains / street vendors, modern supermarkets / hovels, fancy new cars / garbage & broken sidewalks.
Will write again a bit further down the road....
love Alison
Epistle #2 - Leon & Las Penitas, Feb 13
Hi all
Spent the last 3 days in Leon, once Nicaragua's capital, at a small hostel with pocket-sized pool just a few blocks from the ubiquitous central plaza with adjacent cathedral. I strolled, chatted, questioned, rubber-necked, gathering impressions of daily life in a very poor, congested Nico town.
I paid my 100Cordoba (about $5) to enter the Museum of the Revolution, located in the old government palace across from Central America's largest cathedral. Crumbling and stripped of all contents except for some discoloured and tattered archival material, it receives no funding except the collection at entry. It is manned by a team of aging Sandinistas who deliver a tour in rapid-fire spanish then suggest a "propinita" (tip).
Sat in the shade to recover and ended up conversing with a shoeshine boy with no shoes himself, and there went another 100C. There's very little employment here and hardly any social net so everyone is scrambling to earn a few C selling food on the street, reselling imported junk or providing services to other poor folk.
Took a "chicken bus" to Las Penitas beach in hopes of less congestion. Watched fishermen angling their boats to safely broach the surf and enter the estuary where they emptied their boats of huge skate and a type of large orange cod with bulging eyes and comically inflated lips. A crowd gathered to fillet and talk, while dogs circled and turkey vultures swooped.
Now I'm in Esteli, further north and higher in the hills than Leon and hence cooler. I've had a walk around and found the "Drew Estate", American owned tobacco and wine enterprise. The state of the economy here is so poor with crumbling infrastructure that foreign investment may help providing employment and income.
All for now - love Alison
Hi all
Spent the last 3 days in Leon, once Nicaragua's capital, at a small hostel with pocket-sized pool just a few blocks from the ubiquitous central plaza with adjacent cathedral. I strolled, chatted, questioned, rubber-necked, gathering impressions of daily life in a very poor, congested Nico town.
I paid my 100Cordoba (about $5) to enter the Museum of the Revolution, located in the old government palace across from Central America's largest cathedral. Crumbling and stripped of all contents except for some discoloured and tattered archival material, it receives no funding except the collection at entry. It is manned by a team of aging Sandinistas who deliver a tour in rapid-fire spanish then suggest a "propinita" (tip).
Sat in the shade to recover and ended up conversing with a shoeshine boy with no shoes himself, and there went another 100C. There's very little employment here and hardly any social net so everyone is scrambling to earn a few C selling food on the street, reselling imported junk or providing services to other poor folk.
Took a "chicken bus" to Las Penitas beach in hopes of less congestion. Watched fishermen angling their boats to safely broach the surf and enter the estuary where they emptied their boats of huge skate and a type of large orange cod with bulging eyes and comically inflated lips. A crowd gathered to fillet and talk, while dogs circled and turkey vultures swooped.
Now I'm in Esteli, further north and higher in the hills than Leon and hence cooler. I've had a walk around and found the "Drew Estate", American owned tobacco and wine enterprise. The state of the economy here is so poor with crumbling infrastructure that foreign investment may help providing employment and income.
All for now - love Alison
Epistle #3 - February 17, 2018
Hi all
I've extended my stay in Matagalpa for a 3rd night. It's the capital of this hilly north central Nicaraguan department (province) with a pop of about 150,000 and is centre of coffee growing and exporting. Because of the altitude it is also relievedly cooler than Leon. The hostels just provide sheets and tonight I'll have to layer on more clothes as I was a bit too cool for a sound sleep last night.
Travelling here by local bus from Esteli took 2 hours and was colourful. Lots of people getting on and off, sacks of beans and rice, puppies, bananas and complacent babies on generous hips. The people here are very poor, but not malnourished. We descended from Esteli in the hills to lower elevation irrigated rice fields, large family corporate farms, the first extensive agriculture I've seen. We then ascended again to Matagalpa past large terraces of drying coffee beans with attendant rakers and baggers.
La Buena Onda Hostel (the "good vibe or wave") is a repurposed family home with large rooms, terraces, and the typical ceramic tiled floors and internal unroofed patios with proliferation of plants. I'm in an 8-bed mixed dorm adjacent to a noisy urban street but it's very clean, the showers are warm, lockers huge and nobody snores.
Yesterday a retired couple from South Carolina and I travelled to Selva Negra coffee estate further up the hills from Matagalpa. Richard and Jill have a small farm which they lease out for sustainable forestry and hay-making. They also plant food plots for wildlife and Jill recently started beekeeping. Our similar interests meant lots of interesting conversation as we walked the trails and shared lunch accompanied by Nicaraguan beer.
Most fascinating to me is the strangler fig which starts as an epiphyte in the branches of a host tree and enlarges until it overcomes its host and becomes a free-standing tree. We heard the deep gutteral cries of howler monkeys but couldn't spot them overhead.
It's now 8:30 am, I've had a couple of cups of coffee but no breakfast. I have a Nicaraguan buffet in mind where I can see the selection before I order. Nicaraguans eat a lot of meat, rice, beans and corn with vegetables being more an adornment.
Hasta la proxima!
Con carino - Alison
Hi all
I've extended my stay in Matagalpa for a 3rd night. It's the capital of this hilly north central Nicaraguan department (province) with a pop of about 150,000 and is centre of coffee growing and exporting. Because of the altitude it is also relievedly cooler than Leon. The hostels just provide sheets and tonight I'll have to layer on more clothes as I was a bit too cool for a sound sleep last night.
Travelling here by local bus from Esteli took 2 hours and was colourful. Lots of people getting on and off, sacks of beans and rice, puppies, bananas and complacent babies on generous hips. The people here are very poor, but not malnourished. We descended from Esteli in the hills to lower elevation irrigated rice fields, large family corporate farms, the first extensive agriculture I've seen. We then ascended again to Matagalpa past large terraces of drying coffee beans with attendant rakers and baggers.
La Buena Onda Hostel (the "good vibe or wave") is a repurposed family home with large rooms, terraces, and the typical ceramic tiled floors and internal unroofed patios with proliferation of plants. I'm in an 8-bed mixed dorm adjacent to a noisy urban street but it's very clean, the showers are warm, lockers huge and nobody snores.
Yesterday a retired couple from South Carolina and I travelled to Selva Negra coffee estate further up the hills from Matagalpa. Richard and Jill have a small farm which they lease out for sustainable forestry and hay-making. They also plant food plots for wildlife and Jill recently started beekeeping. Our similar interests meant lots of interesting conversation as we walked the trails and shared lunch accompanied by Nicaraguan beer.
Most fascinating to me is the strangler fig which starts as an epiphyte in the branches of a host tree and enlarges until it overcomes its host and becomes a free-standing tree. We heard the deep gutteral cries of howler monkeys but couldn't spot them overhead.
It's now 8:30 am, I've had a couple of cups of coffee but no breakfast. I have a Nicaraguan buffet in mind where I can see the selection before I order. Nicaraguans eat a lot of meat, rice, beans and corn with vegetables being more an adornment.
Hasta la proxima!
Con carino - Alison
Epistle #4 - February 20, 2018
Hi all
I'm back in lowlands heat; 35C during the day dropping to a bearable 25C by 1 am. I'm in the rustic Hostal Libertad a few blocks from Granada's central plaza and cathedral. I considered moving (it's a bit rougher than the photos indicate) but here I have my own dorm and enjoy the music of water running from a fountain outside my window. Few if any mosquitos so repellant remains unopened.
Had an epic 4-hr journey from Matagalpa to Granada via 3 buses; switching transport in busy markets or on congested town corners. Nothing resembles a bus station. I'm grateful for my spanish though struggle to understand the rapid-fire responses to my questions.
Directions are complicated in Nicaragua with no street names or building numbers. Even in Managua, the capital, orientation is by the nearest landmark. The hostel address was "1 block north and 1 block east of Colonial Los Robles Monte los Olivos". I asked about mail delivery and received incomprehension. Apparently delivered directly to the person or the neighbours, so everyone knows your business. Haven't yet seen a PO but as buildings rise up directly from the sidewalk and there's no projecting signs you have to be attuned to the subtleties of hand-painted signs on walls. I've repeatedly walked the same street, craning my neck up, across and forward before finding my quarry.
In Granada,there are more tourists so concessions have been made with some street naming. Perhaps they are less concerned here with foreign invasion; the reason given me for the quaint orientation system. How can you conquer and subdue when you don't know where you are?
Nicaraguans are very attentive to their floors; always sweeping and mopping, though by appearances damping down dust more than cleaning. Other surfaces don't receive the same attention (note Kathy).
I've been buying a local paper each day; reading about Japanese investment & aid, police brutality, human rights infringements on the indigenous Miskito Indians and it seems this Sandinista government is no longer as progressive as it once was. People are struggling to maintain families and are weary of politics and endemic corruption.
I've been trying a few local foods. yesterday enjoyed vigeron made from boiled yuca (cassava), pickled cabbage and fried pork rind all served on a banana leaf. Most women here, both young and old have belly rolls, perhaps partially due to the high consumption and caloric value of yuca. Despite poverty there's also careful attention to eye makeup, bright lipstick and artificial nails. Thank goodness for the immunity of age - it imparts some freedom from peer pressure.
Tomorrow I take a bus to Rivas, then to San Jorge where I catch a ferry to the island of Omatepe, formed of 2 volcanoes in the main lake of Nicaragua (Cocibolca). I'm approaching my 3rd and last week here and am down to making plans a day or 2 ahead.
Ciao y amor - Alison
Hi all
I'm back in lowlands heat; 35C during the day dropping to a bearable 25C by 1 am. I'm in the rustic Hostal Libertad a few blocks from Granada's central plaza and cathedral. I considered moving (it's a bit rougher than the photos indicate) but here I have my own dorm and enjoy the music of water running from a fountain outside my window. Few if any mosquitos so repellant remains unopened.
Had an epic 4-hr journey from Matagalpa to Granada via 3 buses; switching transport in busy markets or on congested town corners. Nothing resembles a bus station. I'm grateful for my spanish though struggle to understand the rapid-fire responses to my questions.
Directions are complicated in Nicaragua with no street names or building numbers. Even in Managua, the capital, orientation is by the nearest landmark. The hostel address was "1 block north and 1 block east of Colonial Los Robles Monte los Olivos". I asked about mail delivery and received incomprehension. Apparently delivered directly to the person or the neighbours, so everyone knows your business. Haven't yet seen a PO but as buildings rise up directly from the sidewalk and there's no projecting signs you have to be attuned to the subtleties of hand-painted signs on walls. I've repeatedly walked the same street, craning my neck up, across and forward before finding my quarry.
In Granada,there are more tourists so concessions have been made with some street naming. Perhaps they are less concerned here with foreign invasion; the reason given me for the quaint orientation system. How can you conquer and subdue when you don't know where you are?
Nicaraguans are very attentive to their floors; always sweeping and mopping, though by appearances damping down dust more than cleaning. Other surfaces don't receive the same attention (note Kathy).
I've been buying a local paper each day; reading about Japanese investment & aid, police brutality, human rights infringements on the indigenous Miskito Indians and it seems this Sandinista government is no longer as progressive as it once was. People are struggling to maintain families and are weary of politics and endemic corruption.
I've been trying a few local foods. yesterday enjoyed vigeron made from boiled yuca (cassava), pickled cabbage and fried pork rind all served on a banana leaf. Most women here, both young and old have belly rolls, perhaps partially due to the high consumption and caloric value of yuca. Despite poverty there's also careful attention to eye makeup, bright lipstick and artificial nails. Thank goodness for the immunity of age - it imparts some freedom from peer pressure.
Tomorrow I take a bus to Rivas, then to San Jorge where I catch a ferry to the island of Omatepe, formed of 2 volcanoes in the main lake of Nicaragua (Cocibolca). I'm approaching my 3rd and last week here and am down to making plans a day or 2 ahead.
Ciao y amor - Alison
Epistle #5 - February 26, 2018
Hi all
This last week of my travels I'm lingering on Ometepe Island in Lake Nicaragua, an hour ferry ride from the port town of San Jorge. It's more tranquil here, though the only truly people-free areas are the upper slopes of its' two volcanos.
I spent the first 3 days in Moyogalpa about 50m from the ferry dock in a hostel appropriately named The Landing. As per usual every cement or adobe domicile in this small town has something to sell though proprietors are seldom busy with clients. The economy is insular and stagnant. I eat at a different place every day just to distribute my modest dollars. I'm SO jaded with gallo pinto and fried bananas and long for oatmeal, toast and black leaf tea with real milk (not powder). Just another spoiled tourist
Average wage here is CAD$150 to 250 per month and most people work 6 days a week. I hope agricultural workers have a shorter week as their work can be very hard, particularly in the heat. There is superabundance of personnel everywhere, a sort of guarantee that everyone has a job, though it may involve little activity. Constant arrivals and departures at the hostels of cooks, cleaners, vendors, supervisors often exceeds the number of guests. I hope we are paying enough @ CAD$9 - $12 per night (includes breakfast).
Sun is up by 6:30 am, down by 6 pm with little twilight. After dark I indulge in Youtube movies on the laptop and now have a contraband spanish novel that will be easier to manage in a hammock. Life is tough. During the day I explore streets and countryside, hugging shade, drinking pop from a baggie (transferred from the bottle - a Nicaraguan version of takeaway). I often stop to converse with locals who are suddenly voluble once they find out I speak spanish. They understand me but I struggle to understand them and likely give idiotic answers that discredit the intelligence of all Canadians
I've rented a bicycle a couple of times to local sights and yesterday I walked 16km up to the San Ramon waterfall which descends from Maderas volcano. I now judge myself unfit for even longer volcano walks and am not disappointed with my decision. I'm notably stiff in the mornings and when I sit for long; not sure if it's age or injury but I'm cautious.
I'm in a very nice hostel now in the tiny community of Santa Cruz on the isthmus between the two volcanos of Ometepe. Today is Monday and I fly from Managua on Thursday late afternoon so I have to finalise plans for my final days (that sounds sinister but isn't). This place is alien to planning and I do so furtively, almost ashamedly. I'm not sure if I'm fit to return, and may be a bit stinky on the plane with only hand-washing of clothes for 3 weeks.
love Alison
Hi all
This last week of my travels I'm lingering on Ometepe Island in Lake Nicaragua, an hour ferry ride from the port town of San Jorge. It's more tranquil here, though the only truly people-free areas are the upper slopes of its' two volcanos.
I spent the first 3 days in Moyogalpa about 50m from the ferry dock in a hostel appropriately named The Landing. As per usual every cement or adobe domicile in this small town has something to sell though proprietors are seldom busy with clients. The economy is insular and stagnant. I eat at a different place every day just to distribute my modest dollars. I'm SO jaded with gallo pinto and fried bananas and long for oatmeal, toast and black leaf tea with real milk (not powder). Just another spoiled tourist
Average wage here is CAD$150 to 250 per month and most people work 6 days a week. I hope agricultural workers have a shorter week as their work can be very hard, particularly in the heat. There is superabundance of personnel everywhere, a sort of guarantee that everyone has a job, though it may involve little activity. Constant arrivals and departures at the hostels of cooks, cleaners, vendors, supervisors often exceeds the number of guests. I hope we are paying enough @ CAD$9 - $12 per night (includes breakfast).
Sun is up by 6:30 am, down by 6 pm with little twilight. After dark I indulge in Youtube movies on the laptop and now have a contraband spanish novel that will be easier to manage in a hammock. Life is tough. During the day I explore streets and countryside, hugging shade, drinking pop from a baggie (transferred from the bottle - a Nicaraguan version of takeaway). I often stop to converse with locals who are suddenly voluble once they find out I speak spanish. They understand me but I struggle to understand them and likely give idiotic answers that discredit the intelligence of all Canadians
I've rented a bicycle a couple of times to local sights and yesterday I walked 16km up to the San Ramon waterfall which descends from Maderas volcano. I now judge myself unfit for even longer volcano walks and am not disappointed with my decision. I'm notably stiff in the mornings and when I sit for long; not sure if it's age or injury but I'm cautious.
I'm in a very nice hostel now in the tiny community of Santa Cruz on the isthmus between the two volcanos of Ometepe. Today is Monday and I fly from Managua on Thursday late afternoon so I have to finalise plans for my final days (that sounds sinister but isn't). This place is alien to planning and I do so furtively, almost ashamedly. I'm not sure if I'm fit to return, and may be a bit stinky on the plane with only hand-washing of clothes for 3 weeks.
love Alison