Hi Folks,
So it's been a while since I updated. I've been in Nicaragua a week. I spent last Friday and Saturday in Leon, an interesting but very hot city in NW Nicaragua. I did a few errands and got used to being in the country. Then, on Sunday, I took a minibus to a smaller town near the mountains called El Sauce (and no, that doesn't mean 'the sauce' in Spanish), and caught a bus that took me two hours into the mountains along a dirt road to Lagartillo. The buses in Nicaragua are old school buses from the USA that are outfitted to carry all kinds of stuff and are the lifeline for rural communities, bringing in goods from the outside and taking out products from the campo (countryside). When I arrived in Lagartillo, I went to the small store near the bus stop, which happens to be the place where I'm staying. I'm living with a wonderful family, a young couple Juan Ramon and Jahaira, and their 6 year old son that we call Monchito (short for Juan Ramon). The life in Lagartillo is isolated and rustic, but it's a really interesting community with a lot going on. I'm having a fantastic experience there studying Spanish with a local teacher, playing games with the kids, exploring the countryside, getting to know people, and learning about all kinds of plants that grow in the tropics. Yesterday we harvested some coffee then ran it through a grinder (by hand) to remove the outer covering (the red part). People in Lagartillo drink and appreciate good coffee, which I've definitely been enjoying with breakfast and sometimes after lunch. We eat a lot of tortillas, which are made from scratch every day, along with beans and a local cheese called cuajada. There's also been spaghetti, potatoes, tomatoes and onions, that aren't grown in Lagartillo, along with a local winter squash that people call ayote. When I first arrived in Lagartillo, a cow had injured its mouth and couldn't eat, so they had to slaughter it. I got to watch the butchering, then we took home some meat for soup the next day. Normally though people don't eat much meat, since there's not exactly a butcher shop in the area.
Lagartillo is a community founded after the Revolution in Nicaragua in 1984. The land used to belong to one person, but the Sandinsta government bought it and distributed it to locals who supported the guerillas in the struggle to overthrow the brutal Somoza dictatorship. Until 1990, the people in Lagartillo operated as a cooperative, but that's no longer the case. The community was attacked by the contras in 1984, who killed six people, including some children. The commemoration of that event is coming up this December 31st. Understandably, people in Lagartillo tend to be left leaning and the community is well organized. Even though its isolated, people travel a lot and there are some foreigners that have married into the community. Education is very important, and the school is the center of town. A few days ago, Juan Ramon (I'm staying at his house) practiced theatre with some local kids for a few hours. Since there's no electricity and hence no television, people create their own entertainment and there's a creative spirit in the community.
Of course, I've only been in Lagartillo a week and there's much more to learn and explore in the area. There's some waterfalls I hope to check out and I'm planning to spend a few mornings herding cattle out in the fields. In Lagartillo, it's easy to wake up early since there's a lot of animal noises in the morning and we don't usually stay up too late. At first, I was a little bored but with some effort I've gotten out of the house more and gotten to know other people. I've enjoyed being around the house though and helping out with chores and cooking. We painted some of the doors a couple days ago with a mix of achiote (a local red pigment from a fruit), varnish and gasoline. The achiote stains have been hard to get off my hands.
This feels like a lot to catch up on! I came to Esteli (a city in Northern Nicaragua) today to check internet and buy some produce at the organic market that happens Friday morning. The journey took about two hours in a bus full of frijoles and people, and I was too involved with checking out the countryside to sleep, but getting up at 530 AM is starting to catch up with me. There are some errands I need to do here too. In Lagartillo, people don't grow much produce, so I'm bringing back a lot because Jahaira is celebrating her promotion from secondary on Sunday and we're going to cook a bunch of food tomorrow.
This time of year there are a lot of festivals in Lagartillo and it's a good time to be here. Here in the mountains, it's sunny but not too hot and cool at night. I've been feeling really healthy and must say I haven't had any stomache problems in Nicaragua.
Anyhow, I'm not sure when I'll be able to access the internet next, but best wishes to everyone whose reading this and have a happy holidays next week for folks who celebrate these holidays.
Adios!
Reed
So it's been a while since I updated. I've been in Nicaragua a week. I spent last Friday and Saturday in Leon, an interesting but very hot city in NW Nicaragua. I did a few errands and got used to being in the country. Then, on Sunday, I took a minibus to a smaller town near the mountains called El Sauce (and no, that doesn't mean 'the sauce' in Spanish), and caught a bus that took me two hours into the mountains along a dirt road to Lagartillo. The buses in Nicaragua are old school buses from the USA that are outfitted to carry all kinds of stuff and are the lifeline for rural communities, bringing in goods from the outside and taking out products from the campo (countryside). When I arrived in Lagartillo, I went to the small store near the bus stop, which happens to be the place where I'm staying. I'm living with a wonderful family, a young couple Juan Ramon and Jahaira, and their 6 year old son that we call Monchito (short for Juan Ramon). The life in Lagartillo is isolated and rustic, but it's a really interesting community with a lot going on. I'm having a fantastic experience there studying Spanish with a local teacher, playing games with the kids, exploring the countryside, getting to know people, and learning about all kinds of plants that grow in the tropics. Yesterday we harvested some coffee then ran it through a grinder (by hand) to remove the outer covering (the red part). People in Lagartillo drink and appreciate good coffee, which I've definitely been enjoying with breakfast and sometimes after lunch. We eat a lot of tortillas, which are made from scratch every day, along with beans and a local cheese called cuajada. There's also been spaghetti, potatoes, tomatoes and onions, that aren't grown in Lagartillo, along with a local winter squash that people call ayote. When I first arrived in Lagartillo, a cow had injured its mouth and couldn't eat, so they had to slaughter it. I got to watch the butchering, then we took home some meat for soup the next day. Normally though people don't eat much meat, since there's not exactly a butcher shop in the area.
Lagartillo is a community founded after the Revolution in Nicaragua in 1984. The land used to belong to one person, but the Sandinsta government bought it and distributed it to locals who supported the guerillas in the struggle to overthrow the brutal Somoza dictatorship. Until 1990, the people in Lagartillo operated as a cooperative, but that's no longer the case. The community was attacked by the contras in 1984, who killed six people, including some children. The commemoration of that event is coming up this December 31st. Understandably, people in Lagartillo tend to be left leaning and the community is well organized. Even though its isolated, people travel a lot and there are some foreigners that have married into the community. Education is very important, and the school is the center of town. A few days ago, Juan Ramon (I'm staying at his house) practiced theatre with some local kids for a few hours. Since there's no electricity and hence no television, people create their own entertainment and there's a creative spirit in the community.
Of course, I've only been in Lagartillo a week and there's much more to learn and explore in the area. There's some waterfalls I hope to check out and I'm planning to spend a few mornings herding cattle out in the fields. In Lagartillo, it's easy to wake up early since there's a lot of animal noises in the morning and we don't usually stay up too late. At first, I was a little bored but with some effort I've gotten out of the house more and gotten to know other people. I've enjoyed being around the house though and helping out with chores and cooking. We painted some of the doors a couple days ago with a mix of achiote (a local red pigment from a fruit), varnish and gasoline. The achiote stains have been hard to get off my hands.
This feels like a lot to catch up on! I came to Esteli (a city in Northern Nicaragua) today to check internet and buy some produce at the organic market that happens Friday morning. The journey took about two hours in a bus full of frijoles and people, and I was too involved with checking out the countryside to sleep, but getting up at 530 AM is starting to catch up with me. There are some errands I need to do here too. In Lagartillo, people don't grow much produce, so I'm bringing back a lot because Jahaira is celebrating her promotion from secondary on Sunday and we're going to cook a bunch of food tomorrow.
This time of year there are a lot of festivals in Lagartillo and it's a good time to be here. Here in the mountains, it's sunny but not too hot and cool at night. I've been feeling really healthy and must say I haven't had any stomache problems in Nicaragua.
Anyhow, I'm not sure when I'll be able to access the internet next, but best wishes to everyone whose reading this and have a happy holidays next week for folks who celebrate these holidays.
Adios!
Reed
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