Moped Diaries

Nearly a month in Nicaragua and not sick of Gallo Pinto!

Posted by jennie on June 1st, 2006

hi all.

well, Nicaragua has been a very interesting experience. I think in every country ive visited there are interesting contrasts, but Nicaragua has really impressed me in its dichotomies. Ive had some of my most meaningful interactions with locals here, with some wonderfully open people sharing their life stories with me, helping me along the way… and Ive also seen the worst of what happens in a poverty stricken nation (the second poorest in the West, next to Haiti (!!), with 70% people living below the poverty line), seeing very young children working & begging, myself and a friend being the victims of robbery and just generally being taken advantage of being the Chela (what they call Gringas here).

I met a hilarious girl on the bus crossing the border from Honduras to Nicaragua, who ended up turning into a friend who i traveled with for nearly two weeks. Aiko is from England but currently lives in Honduras working as a dive instructor.. She has traveled all over the world and was a great travel companion.

Immediately at the border we were approached by kids begging for our food. Just the thought that moms have to send their kids out to do this, or worse that they are completely on their own, really breaks your heart. Needless to say, we didnt eat much that day! Though you see lots of poverty in the cities, it is looking out the bus window that im really struck by the problem. Seeing shacks made of corrugated tin and sticks on the side of the road that pass for houses; skinny, dirty children playing in areas full of trash; horses and cows so thin you can make out all their bones.. truly sad stuff.

WOW.. that started out depressing! well, like i said there has been good and bad.

Here in Nicaragua they have an interesting way of speaking which to one who has studied in guatemala, was difficult to get accostomed to. For instance, they drop the “S” off the ends of words, so Mas o Menos (meaning more or less) becomes Ma o Meno.. HUH?? Gracias is Gracia.. etc. They say Chele or Chela for Gringos/as (which i kinda like, it sounds pretty dont you think??) Women selling you something will call you “Mi Amor” (my love) and after theyve served you and you say thanks, the usual answer is “A La Orden”. Its a darn good thing i like rice and beans, because Gallo Pinto is served at every meal, it is in fact difficult to escape. Its rice and red, whole beans, which are fried i think. YUM. As my friend Kristin once so eloquently said “Id eat fried dirt!”, well luckily Gallo Pinto is better than dirt. Another common dish which i have to admit i have yet to try is Vigoron, Yucca topped with fried pork skin and coleslaw! But i love Tajadas (plantains, thinly sliced and fried that you eat like chips) and Baho, a stew of yucca and plantains, and beef. Ive even been eating more street food lately now that the digestive system is totally adjusted to life here, because its so good and soooo cheap. Tonight i ate a big plate of grilled beef, coleslaw, Gallo Pinto and tortillas for $1.50. WOW. Its also fun to eat on the street because of the people watching. Some grills here will have little chairs and tables set up.. At every bus stop women climb aboard like everywhere in C.A. announcing what they have to sell, which ranges from water to candy to refrescos (juice) in bags, meat products.. mmmm.. and every bus ride involves horrible, LOUD music. Unlike guate and honduras though, ive been able to enjoy the ocassional song in english, such as classics by Air Supply, Paul McCartney & Wings, or Bonney Tyler (”Turn around, Bright eyes”, for those of you not as into this vintage music as i am.. ha ha). Every town youre in, people sit outside their houses or on their patios in rocking chairs, people say ¨Hola¨as you pass, and generally are quick to smile and welcome you to their country. Baseball rules over soccer here, courtesy of the U.S. Military presence.
We started out in the city of Granada, a beautiful colonial city with nice churches, cobblestone streets (youve heard this before right??), beautifully painted old houses. Actually most of the buildings in Granadas main plaza were reconstructed after a 1856 fire started by (American yahoo) William Walker, who basically came to Latin America to take it over and then set fire to Granada at the urging of the people of Leon, as the cities had a long rivalry going (to this day, Granada and Leon are very different, the former being conservative and the latter, more liberal). The only thing i didnt like about the city was the Casinos! kinda ruins the Colonial vibe!! oh, and the boys saying “Hello, Baby”, (in english) at every turn. We stayed in a great hostel, Oasis, and spent the next 4 days exploring the city and the outlying areas, such as the Pueblos Blancos. The city was fun to explore, had lots of great restaurants and cafes, and generally a nice vibe with travelers and locals alike. Aiko and i thought we would be girlie one day and got a hair cut at a Salon. Well, it was cheap.. but im not sure i needed a “professional” to do what the woman did to my hair! HA HA..I basically could have had some kid on the street do it! The Pueblos Blancos, or white towns, were a day trip we took: in San Juan de Oriente we saw local artesanias- (handicrafts) we were invited into someones home (which is the custom) to watch him work on his pottery, which was a great experience. While he worked on the pottery at the wheel, the little abuelita (grandmother) of the house showed us all around the house. We had lunch in Catarina, with a view of Laguna de Apoyo, Lago Nicaragua and the city of Granada. The area where the Mirador (look out) is, was supposedly a hang out of the young Sandino (the inspiration for the FSLN party- Frente Sandinista Liberacion National, better known as simply the Sandinistas).

Masaya- spent two days visiting this town a bit north of Granada. It is a town known for its artesanias and has a market where you can see goods from all over the country. One neighborhood called Monimbo, has people who make shoes, furniture, hammocks. We didnt believe our Lonely Planet guide when it said, “just go knock on peoples doors and they will let you in to see what they are working on”.. but we decided to be brave. We met Francisco Flores and his family and got to watch them making beautiful wooden bowls. We wandered around town, being the only Chelas around, asking for permission to peek into peoples backyards — quite fun! We asked our hotel owners for a dinner recommendation and headed to “Che Gris”. This was basically someones home with a big front room that passes as the “restaurant” (we were told they have another restaurant across town), where the owner Chema (nickname for Jose Maria.. Jose=Che, Maria=Ma) and his wife Grisela invited us in. Chema was quite a character. We were the only people in the restaurant, and though they were totally welcoming, he kept having to run out to get soda, water, change… he didnt seem to mind having to run to the corner store to get items that we ordered.. in places like this, you can eat a good meal plus drinks for about 5 dollars..

The old market in Masaya was quite a site. We had been warned by our guidebook but we had to see the Taxidermied animals for ourselves.. EEK. Im not sure what the appeal is but.. all i can say is see the pics for yourself!
Our last night in Granada we went out to a club and it was pretty fun except two girls sitting alone definetly look like they want to be talked to! 2 of the 3 boys who approached us were nice enough and we had good conversation and even danced to some Raggeaton (much to my chagrin!),, but after one of them (the really drunk one) claimed to be IN LOVE with Aiko after knowing her for 15 minutes, and all the while i had to act as translator for the blossoming love affair, it got a bit old! Plus, when he pulled money out of his pocket we decided we might be dealing with a Nicarguan gangster! I missed my chance to practice my salsa moves since we split early to avoid the weirdo making eyes at Aiko all night!

Isla de Omotepe, Lago Nicaragua- May 13 to 17th

Getting to Omotepe was a case where the journey is truly part of the experience. Many times, this kind of travel involves gruelingly long or just uncomfortable bus rides, not much scenery etc.. But, this day i enjoyed every minute of it. The lake is the largest in Central America, covering 8624 sq. km (this probably means something to one or two of you, even if it means nothing to me!). There is an island, Omotepe (which means, “between two hills”) in the Lake, formed by two large volcanos with an isthmus that was created by lava flow. Is is still fairly undeveloped for tourism, which makes it difficult to travel around, but very tranquil! The journey getting there involved nearly 8 hours of travel– first bus, than micro bus, then ferry (during part of which i had to chant..focus on the horizon, focus on the horizon), than another bus over the pockmarked gravel road, this last part being a distance of only 20 miles (and im being generous) and taking 3 hours by bus! yikes. Met a man on the ferry who had left for Costa Rica during the war and has only just returned to Nic. after 25 years! Spent the 3 hours on the bus on the island, simply amazed we didnt break down at every turn but enjoying the beautiful views of the both volcanos.
Stayed in a placed called Hacienda Merida, run by a Nicaraguense who has lived in the U.S. and Costa rica. He talked ALOT, but was very interesting and had lots of information to tell anyone who would listen; ranging from nature on the island to the current politics (please dont eat farmed Tilapia fish from Nicargua, folks!!) on the island. This guy is a proponent of foreign business in his country, but definetly worried about the damage to natural resources of the area, as with the U.S. owned Tilapia farms dumping tons of waste (40,000 kg per day!) into the lake. The Hacienda is set right on the lake, with a dock for watching the sunsets, kayaks, bikes.. everything for exploring the island.
We met three great American guys- Cam, Jeff, and Lance- medical students on break from work in Masaya, getting ready to graduate. During our stay there who we hung out with for a few days. I enjoyed more activity in three days then id been used to on most of the trip; going kayaking one day, climbing Volcan Maderas the second day and then biking around the island the third! OUCH. Part of my desire to climb the volcano, i have to admit was to prove that i could do it— the night before the trip, the guide comes to the Hacienda and one of the employees at the hostel gets the list of people together, discusses the trip etc. Well, there were 5 of us planning to go- myself, Aiko and our three american friends. So, Yuri (the employee) says to me as he is going around the table asking all of us ¨Y tu, vas a subir?¨(and you, are you going to climb?) and i respond Yes, and he repeats ¨Y tu¨? as if i didnt hear him the first time! The third time he asked i did one of those turn-around-and-look-behind-you-because-surely-the-person-cannot-be-addressing-you kind of things.. ¨YES, im doing it!¨. Then all night i thought, Oh shit, can i do this?? needless to say, i made it! 2 of our group had to turn back due to being sick, but three of us (two guys and me!) made it up to the top, enjoying an intense climb but some beautiful views and a fun time. Unfortunately, the sun was so hot during the last hour hiking out and i hadnt drunk enough water (4.5 liters SEEMED adequate!!) so i spent the next 2 hours in a hammock, nearly unable to move, and then after drinking more water, had to run to the bathroom to VOMIT! niiiiiice. After some Emergen-C and 2 more hours i felt fine, but i will never again underestimate the effects of dehydration! I enjoyed hanging out with my new American friends, discussing such important topics as 80s Butt rock, and of course as my friends at home will know, i did NOT dissappiont with my scary random knowledge of lyrics by such heavy hitters as the Scorpions, Cinderella, and Extreme!

From Omotepe to Leon- journey to Leon uneventful, but crazy. First on the boat, got in a political conversation (or i should say, got in the MIDDLE of a political discussion) with two older ladies, one conservative the other liberal. The conservative one, who had lived in the US many years and spoke english, at one point, while her friend was arguing with her, looked at me and slyly with her left hand waving said ¨Lef¨, ¨Lef¨.. trying to be sneaky and tell me her friend was a left-winger, without her friend knowing she was talking about her.. pretty comical.

All roads (or nearly all) to/from cities in this area of Nic. pass through Managua, a big, noisy crazy place. There are several different bus ¨terminals¨, spread throughout the city, depending on where you are coming from and where you are going, and it can be quite confusing as well as costly to get around! (a big Earthquake in the 70s i think, caused some of this sprawl as the city had to be rebuilt) I actually got in an argument with a cabbie who tried to charge me what seemed like a craaaazy amount of money for a ride across town. I still dont know whether i was being savvy or a total bitch! this is one of those things that happens, is that after being taking advantage of a few times, you get your guard up so high that you feel you are ALWAYS being taking advantage of.. its really too bad.

May 17th to 21. Leon- LOOOOOVED Leon. One of my favorite Nicaraguan cities. Though it is a bit grittier and has an edgy-er feel than Granada and is not quite as ¨perfect¨looking. It felt to me to be more authentic, with a richer history and more interesting people. Traditionally it is the most politically progressive towns in the country, and during the Revolution apparently the whole town got in on the action, fighting against the Somoza regime. The Sandinista party won the elections here as recently as 90 and 96 and the FSLN appears to be alive and well here. There are fascinating murals all around town, serving as reminders of revolutionary times. I visited museums of art, the childhood home of Ruben Dario (the famous Nicarguan poet who was very influential in Latin Amer) and a gallery run by mothers of Sandinista fighters, full of photos- quite moving. I also spent a few hours with Maria, my own personal tour guide, who showed me churches, murals, the old jail– all the while explaining the history and various important events that took place in Leon. For example we visited La Iglesia del Calvario, where in 1979 students protesting were thrown from the top of the church by GN (Guardia Nacionale) and then shot once the were on the ground, in front of the other protestors. You can also walk around town and see areas that were bombed by the GN.

One night Aiko and i stumbled into a museum of the FSLN.. Eventhough it wasnt ready for its opening, Nicho invited us in and proceeded to spend 2 hours explaining about the history of the FSLN party, the important figures and events and the Revolution. It was really quite moving to be talking to someone who participated directly in such a crazy time!

While in Leon, I also enjoyed just sitting in ¨my¨ coffee shop on the plaza people watching, waiting out the afternoon thunderstorms that i never seemed to be prepared for! One day i gave two little shoe-shine boys who had been begging some lunch money, and they marched across the plaza, bought some tajadas and then came back and sat with me while they ate. They were extremely happy to have food and quite gracious towards me as they picked up their shoe shine boxes and yelled ¨Gracias, Gracias¨as they went back to work!.

Aiko and i also took advantage of cheap eating at the comedors near the market, where you go into what feels like someones home, pick food from set daily menu and dig in to a huge meal for a few bucks.

Unfortunately, all was not great in Leon. Aiko and i were the victims of a robbery in our hostel. The family that runs the place seemed nice enough (albeit CERTIFYABLY Craaaaazy) but apparently attention to detail and security was not their strong point! They allowed (found this out after the fact) some sketchy guys to check in without giving their I.D. and these guys proceeded to pull a scam on us that involved removing a ceiling tile between my room and theirs and CLIMBING into my room, to relieve both Aiko and i of credit cards, IPods (boo hiss) and cash! i mean we were being careful to have our stuff locked away, but just didnt plan on someone climbing INTO our rooms!!! well, im laughing about it now, so all is fine!

May 21st to 23rd Matagalpa/Esteli Feeling a bit vulnerable, I left Leon and set out to visit a few towns in the North of the country. The area is mountainous and cooler and it was nice to visit smaller towns. In Matagalpa i visited an area called Selva Negra, an 850 Hectare coffee estate of protected forest, a beautiful area full of walking trails. In Esteli, i visited another small museum run by mothers of fallen Sandinistas, and learned more about the Revolution. I was the only Gringa in both towns, and got a few stares- these were definetly not towns on the normal tourist route. But i enjoyed the small town feel, walking around town getting caught in the rain (a theme??) and generally just enjoying observing the daily life, eating local foods, and interacting with the locals.

May 25th Big Corn Island After spending a night in managua (this is the 4th time ive gone THROUGH the city but dont know it at all!) i was off for some much needed beach time, on Big Corn Island, a 6 sq km island about 70km off the Caribbean coast. I spent 4 days on Big Corn and 1 1/2 days on Little Corn, only 1.5 sq km. The Carib. coast and the islands are interesting in that the Spanish never colonized this area. The people are Miskito indians, Black Creoles brought by the British as slaves, and Mestizos (indian/spanish) who came from other parts of Nicaragua. The english language and Protestant religion are important parts of the culture, as is lobster and shrimp fishing. Interestingly you can hear English, spanish and Creole as well as indian languages just walking around the island. I truely felt as if i was living in a postcard while there! it was so amazing, its difficult to describe. Very few tourists visit the islands, especially the big island. The beaches are white, the water torquise, with palm trees swaying, the whole thing! People are super friendly and say ¨Hello¨and ¨Good morning¨in a beautiful Creole accent as they pass you on the street. I found the language on the island especially interesting as it was difficult at times to know which language to speak with people you encountered! Alot of the black people on island spoke spanish as well as english, and i found that i understood their spanish better than their english sometimes, due to the strong accent!

You could walk around the island watching folks sit in their rocking chairs, observe groups of men playing dominos or simply sitting around chatting. There was always a beautiful breeze. i enjoyed spending time at deserted beaches (i mean me and maybe 2 other people!), sipping 75 cent beers, eating fresh fruit and amazing seafood, going snorkeling… well, what can i say besides it was pretty much 6 days in PARADISE. I also met a great girl named Pepa, from Spain. Together with a guide, we got to go on a hike visiting parts of the island that are inaccessible by road.. I felt like i was on an episode of Fantasy Island (without the creepy parts). Sometimes as i observed little kids playing at the beach i thought ¨Do they have any idea how great this is¨? and then, i realized its like me growing up in Alaska not realizing how amazing that place is until after leaving there!

Well i could go on and on about the islands, but it really is difficult to explain the beauty there, from the natural untouched-by-tourism beauty, to the people, to the food,,,.. i loved every minute of it!!

May 31st, June 1st Managua to San Jose, Costa Rica. Well, i was very sad to leave the islands as you can imagine. I tried to soak in every bit of the sun, water, and atmosphere as i could and really be in the moment there!… Then, it was a sad flight back to Managua, a night there (spent with Pepa and our friend Gwendolyn, in a surreal experience at a big Mall doing errands. I swear, when im inside a mall, it could be anywhere U.S.A.. this one had every American fast food restaurant you could think of, American stores, and NBA on the TV in the food court! EEEK!! where am i??).. June 1st, Pepa and i spend 10 hours on a over-airconditioned bus traveling to San Jose, Costa Rica, where we thought we would stay the night before heading for Panama in the a.m. Well, we decided to get back on another bus at 10pm.. So, here i am! Delirious (thus the scattered web post.. sorry!) from 10 hours on bus and ready to ride an overnight bus to David, Panama.

I am very sad to leave Nicaragua. I dont know if my explanation can really describe how special the month here has been for me. It is really a special place.

At the same time, i am excited to move on to Panama, as ¨Mean¨Jean Kim will meeting me in Panama City, along with her friend Chris from NYC. So, that will be super fun!!!! Im also looking forward to the next two months, especially Peru, where Gwen, Corinne, Amy and Chris will also be joining me!! Im so lucky to have these friends come share part of the journey!

As always, i trust this finds you all well!

jennie

Entry Filed under: General, Nicaragua