Nicaragua and done

I'm not sure anyone is reading this blog anymore, but I still like writing it, and besides, I feel the need for some closure after more than 6 months away. We're heading home in two days.

First, an update on the events of the last 2+ weeks. Elise, Deb and I ventured off to Nicaragua via a 2 day megabus ride from Guatemala City to Managua with a short overnight stay in El Salvador and a pass through Honduras.

Nicaragua is a wonderful country, quite a bit poorer than Guatemala, with less of a tourism infrastructure. All told, traveling in Nicaragua is more taxing than either Guatemala or Mexico, and by the end of our two weeks there, we were a bit frazzeled. The people of Nicaragua are quite nice, most of them have forgiven us for the Reagan years, when our tax dollars were paying to arm and train assassins to kill all things communist, socialist, or generally non-capitalist (those older readers will remember the Iran-Contra Scandal). On the other hand, I was suprised to find out that Daniel Ortega is not that popular in Nicaragua, and not just with business owners, but with taxi drivers and many others. Daniel Ortega, for those that don't know, headed up the Sandanista Revolution that finally toppled the Somoza regime in 1979. He has been in and out of power since then, he has 1 year left in the current election cycle. In fact, I never talked to a Nicaragüense that liked ol' Danny boy. They state that he has turned into something of a dictator himself, only without the jobs of the Somoza times. For example, he has managed to change the constitution in Nicaragua to enable him to hold office indefinately (sound familiar, think Honduras).

Once our bus arrived in Managua, we got out as soon as possible (Managua, like most of the major cities in Central America is dirty and dangerous). We took a colectivo to Granada, a pretty town that sits right on the banks of Lago Nicaragua. Granada reminded me a bit of Antigua in that it had a beautiful parque central and friendly people. We stomped around the city for a couple of days, enjoying the sights and food. While there, we took a day trip to Masaya, a town nearby with a large market.

From Granada, we took a 4 hour ferry to an eden-like island in the middle of Lago Nicaragua (the largest fresh water island in the world), Ometepe. Ometepe is formed from two adjacent volcanos merged together, looks a bit like a cell in late anaphase. We spent 4 days on the island in a town called Merida, truly, el medio de la nada. We hiked up Madera, the smaller of the two volcanos. Although smaller, it was still over a 4000 foot ascent up steep muddy trials. It took us 9 hours and silenced any suggestions of climbing the other volcano the next day. Unfortunately, it was so overcast that we didn't get to see the laguna in the crater, in fact, because we were in the clouds most of the day, we didn't get to see much in the way of views. To add insult to injury, we got drenched in a torrent the last hour or so of the hike. All told, it was a meat grinding experience. We did get to see some wildlife, though, including a coral snake, howler and capuchin monkeys (a mama capuchin was carrying her baby on her back as she made her way through the trees), and crabs. Now, crabs might not sound like that big of a deal unless you consider we were probably 4 miles up the volcano, and at least 30 miles from the nearest saltwater. Here is a picture of the sun setting from our hotel. If you look to the right, that mountain capped by the clouds is Concepcion, the larger of the two volcanos.

Due to general fatigue and inertia, we spent the next day hanging out and reading. Somewhat refreshed, the next day we took a kayaking tour up a jungle river were we saw caymans (small alligators), turtles, and tons of birds. I have a picture here of a cayman we saw and another of Elise with our guide with Madera in the background.

We were sad to leave Ometepe, but leave we did, and made our way to Laguna Apoyo, a large crater lake in the middle of the jungle (you may have noticed that everything here is in the middle of the jungle). Apoyo was a delight, the water was clean and perfect for swimming, which we did. Alot.

Then on to Leon, a town about an hour north of Managua. We were in Leon during the 31st anniversary of the Sandanista Revolution/overthrow of the dreaded Samosa regime. The Somoza family ruled Nicaragua with an iron fist from 1936 to 1979, first by the father, then by two of his sons. We were running low on steam by this time, but managed to take a two hour walk through some of the parts of the city less seen by tourists that took us to El Fortin, a prison where Somoza incarcerated, tortured, and, of course, murdered countless political enemies (the Somozas had lots of those). I have a picture of Deb next to a prison cell that was no bigger than 6 feet long, 4 feet wide, and too low to stand up in. Note Deb's disapproving look. If there is anything Deb hates worse than a bad bagel, its torture and murder. From Leon, we also took a day trip to Poneloya, a beach just to the west of Leon on the Pacific Ocean. The surf there is too dangerous to swim, but we puttered down the beach for a couple of hours, then returned to Leon. My last picture if of Deb and Elise on the beach at Poneloya. From Leon, we jumped on another megabus to San Salvador, spent the night, and back to Guatemala.

I have compiled a rough list of things I've done in the last 6 months. I don't know why, but I have, and here it is. I have chosen to do so in the style of the Harper's Index:

Number of months working in a Spanish-speaking clinic treating patients ranging in age from 2 to 82 with an amazing variety of orthopaedic and neuorological disorders: 3+

Number of weeks of Spanish classes: 5 (but, I'm still not all that good at Spanish).

Number of different countries: 6

Number of countries never visited before: 4 (Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua)

Number of international borders crossed: 12

Types and numbers of forms of transportation: Planes: 8; buses: countless, including full on touring buses (one for 19 hours), shuttles, collectivos, minibuses, chicken buses, open bed pickup trucks with over 20 people in the back; river taxis: 3, open ocean boats: 3; ferries across salt and fresh water: 6, tuk-tuks: 1; taxis: countless; horse drawn train cars: 1; Camels: 0.

Number of hotels, hostels, etc stayed in: >30

Number with truly hot water: 1

Number of times I flushed toilet paper down the toilet in those hotels: 1 (by mistake, forgot)

Bicycle tours: 1

Backpacking trips: 1

Hiking excursions: too many to count,

Miles of walking: hundreds and hundreds.
Volcanos climbed: 2

Nights spent on an active volcano: 1

Feet away from a lava flow: <10

Kayak trips in jungle: 2

Underground river explorations: 1

Whale sharks seen: >50

Whale sharks swam with: 3

Earthquakes felt: 1

Tropical storms: 2

Eruptions of volcanos: 1

Types and numbers of wildlife seen: Birds: >90 species including over 50 new species; whip tailed scorpions: 3; monkeys: >20, 3 different species; coatis: ~10; other small furry mammels: bunches; poisonous snakes: 2 different species; wild pigs: 4; tamazotes (tiny deer): 1; cayman (small alligators): 3, crocodiles: dozens; turtles: bunches; Camels : 0.

Number of world cup games seen in country of team playing: 2 (Honduras in Honduras and Mexico in Mexico).

Number of Mayan ruins seen: 12

Number of Mayan ruins seen past saturation point: at least 4

Types of local cuisine tried: countless, including penuchos, gringas, pollo de jalapeno, chilaquis, pollo de molle, picadillo (Nica shredded beef stew), chaote, ceviche, pan de chazon (shark), pitaya, liche, etc, etc, etc

Bad beers: way too many

Good beers: 1 (Guiness in the can with those cool nitrogen pressure thingies)

Other drinks tried: tons, including bunches of papaya, sandia, mango, melon, and pino licuados, various Carribean Rums, michalada (beer mixed with salsa, lime and salt), El Macua (national drink of Nicaragua), refresca de cacoa con leche, horchada de arroz, others.

Number of interesting people met: lots, but never enough; both of the countries visited and of dozens of other countries. I met an Irish author for Frommer's travel guide (a dream job for me), surfers from Australia, amatuer anthropoligists from Zimbabwe, entrepreneurs and/or small business owners from Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua, Canada and the U.S., physical therapists from New Zealand and Mexico, Marketing executives from the Netherlands, tons of medical students from England (I would say half the English folks I met were medical students, go figure), professional dancers and actresses from Canada, and lots of folks trying to avoid being much of anything professionally.

Although still a bit disappointed about the camel thing, all told, this past 6 months must have been a success because I'm actually looking forward to returning to work (to quote Elvis Costello, I don't suppose that will last). I think the first thing I'm going do when I get home is flush toilet paper down the toilet, then drink a good beer (or two), get a good night sleep in my own bed, wake up and go to work on my bike. I am going to be teaching Medical Spanish to the PT students and will be treating Spanish speaking patients in the clinic, so hopefully I won't forget too much Spanish between now and when I take my next sabbatical in 6 years!

Thanks for putting up with my blog, and I hope to see you all soon after returning.

Reunion!

So much has happened since my last post entry. I finished Spanish school, Elise and Deborah joined Kyra and me in Guatemala, we made our way over to Honduras, where we visited Copan, the furthest south the Mayan empire was known to extend. I have enclosed a picture of a us standing in front of a sacrificial stone, evidently the Mayans would position folks face up over the stone and slice and dice them. I thought it would make a great X-mas card with the heading "wishing you were here", but Deb thought better of it. We all got a strange vibe (mal onda) from Honduras, I'm not sure if it was just because the people in Guatemala are so friendly that anyone else would seem stand-offish by comparison, but we were happy to move on. We took a long bus from Copan to Rio Dulce, Guatemala, then a water taxi from Rio Dulce to Livingston, that was magical. You start out in a freshwater lake where they take you by this old Spanish fort, then by a few islands full of waterfowl (we saw a Northern Jacana, an odd looking creature who has feet made to walk on top of water lillies). The lake then gives way to a river that passes through a deep, narrow canyon of the plushest jungle imaginable. Then you end up popping out into Livingston, a sleepy little ocean-side pueblo on the Carribean Sea. Although still in Guatemala, it had a totally different, typically Carribean feel to it. We only stayed there for a day, just long enough to have possibly the best shrimp I have ever eaten, then took a water taxi to Belize. We ended up in Placencia, a nicely beached little town that is the very definition of peaceful. We stayed there for several days enjoying the water and seafood. We booked a snorkling tour that took us out to a small island which has been designated as a National Park. The coral and fish were as good as I have ever seen. We then took a series of long, painful buses all the way to Playa del Carmen. I already described Playa to you, but it was nice to see it again through my families eyes. We spend 5 days there, culminating in a tour where we swam with whale sharks. The tour involved a long boat ride (almost 3 hours out) into the open ocean. It was rough seas, and nearly all of the 11 people on the boat got sick, including all of us (I even ralfed, the first time in some 27 years! There goes my record.) On the way back in, we got caught up in a swell, the waves got rather big for our 20 foot lancha, and it was raining like a good shower head. All the while, the captain had rediculously loud music pumping into the boat, a little like Apocalype Now. During the worst of the storm, the theme song for the Titanic came on, which made us all laugh despite ourselves. I have here a picture of a whale shark from the internet just so you can appreciate what it might be like to swim right next to the largest fish in the world. I swam right next to one that had to be at least 30 feet long, I was so close that I had to watch to make sure he didn't hit me with his tail (they are plankton eaters, but they swim with there mouth open and could easily swallow a small adult whole).

It was in Playa that Kyra decided she needed to return to New Mexico to try to find work before heading off to Morocco and Jordan for 4 months in the Fall. Elise, Deb and I then took another marathon bus ride (19 hours) to San Cristobal, Mexico. San Cristobal is a bohemian town in southern Chiapas not far from the Guatemalan border. We enjoyed our stay there, although a tropical storm (yes, yet another one) left us in rain for 3 days straight. Not the hopeful, usually disappointing desert rains we desert rats are used to, but a unrelenting, driving rain. In the midst of said rain one night, on our way home from dinner, we heard some jazz playing, stepped into this bar, and were rewarded with an amazing 8 piece Cuban jazz band. We listened and danced until the wee hours. These are the rewards, often unexpected, that make traveling so worth it.

Then, another series of long buses back to Antigua. After reuniting with old friends in our hostel, (OX), in Antigua, we went to Semuc Champey. Semuc about 8 hours north of Antigua by windy, awful roads through jungle mountains broken up by a tapestry of farms. The last 11 kilometers is a dirt road which delivers you to, quite honestly, a jungle paradise with a series of rivers, waterfalls, and caves. We went caving the first night we were there and saw tons of bats, tailless whip scorpions, and, of course, stalagmites and stalagtites. I have a picture of some bats exiting the cave. The next morning we took a tour through an underground river system inside a seemingly endless cave. Rumor has it that the river goes back over 11 kilometers into the mountiain, but the truth is the end has yet to be found. Our tour took us about a third of a mile into the cave, where we waded through the river, at times having to tread water because the water was so deep, all while holding a candle in our hands (our only light source). There were places along the river were we could jump from ledges into the river, natural water slides, and even a chute about as big around as a patio table, where you hold your breath, jump down through the chute about a meter or so until it spits you out into a chamber below. That part was actually pretty scary. We then went tubing down a river outside of the mountain for a bit, and finished up in a different part of the river where an amazing natural limestone bridge about 1/3 mile long was formed over the river. The "bridge" has springs that feed into it, forming a series of small waterfalls and turquoise ponds. All of this sits atop of the river running underneath. We swam in the ponds for a couple of hours, then returned to our cabin. I have here a series of pictures of Semuc. The first one is us up at Miradora, or "the lookout", the next, a closer one of the pools we swam in. This day ended up to be one of the most memorable of a very memorable trip.

Without Kyra, the translating has been left mostly to me, although both Elise and Deb are pretty good. I told Elise that it would only take her another year of classes to pass me up, getting passed up in language is nothing new to me. We returned to Antigua from Semuc after 3 days, and right now we are at the Earth Lodge, a hippy ecolodge just up the valley from Antigua. It sits at the base of a rather extensive cloud forest, where the birding is especially good. I saw a blue-throated motmot, an exotic bird found only in a small region of Central America. My last picture is looking down into the valley from the Earthlodge, if you look closely, you can see that the volcano to the left has just erupted, that is a plume of smoke, not a cloud. We are going to stay here for a couple of days, then we will take a 2 day bus ride to Managua, Nicaragua, where we will slowly make our way back to Guatemala over a 2 week time. Then, finlly, it will be time to return home. I will try to add one more post before I return.