Leon, Last day

I was expecting to pass out from exhaustion after so many hours in front of the computer but a buddy I travelled with in Panama came looking for me and we had a couple of beers. Some girls from the hostel decided to go clubbing but I declined, not wanting to miss my bus again. I also forgot that St. Patty's was the next day. But I had made up my mind to leave for El Salvador. When I left the next moring at about 8m, the girls were just rolling in. I think I made the right choice...

Leon for another day

I am highly irritated that I have to be in this city another day. I have myself to blame for not doing my research yesterday and not packing before I went to bed. So, instead of spending a night in some hotel in Honduras, I opted to stay in Leon where I know some people for another night.

This, I guess, is a blessing in disguise. I have now uploaded all my pics starting from Panama onto my photo site. The link is on the side bar. You guys will have to turn your head sideways for some of them. Have fun!

Volcano hike in Nicaragua

Didn't happen. I waited all week to get better from the horseback ride and today was the day to go hike this volcano with the full moon guiding our paths. I would have seen lava. It was cancelled because there were clouds looming in the sky. Apparently, when it rains here, it's dangerous to even step outside. OK, I'm exaggerating but, it would have been dangerous hiking up this volcano with the wind at full force.

After looking at my money situation, I think I will just head north and stick to a specific plan of attack. I have credit available but I don't want to be in heaps of debt when I return as it took me so long to work it off. I am also unemployed so this worries me a little. Good thing I can't drink very well. I'm sure I save so much money on booze. When it's less than $1 CAD for a beer, I see other travellers guzzling them down. But those dollars do add up. I am living as cheap as I can but no more dwelling in a place for me. Ok, maybe I'll splurge on spending an extra day on the Guatamalen Caribbean coast.

Leon, Nicaragua. City tour

OK, touring the city has been a work in process over the past few days. It gets so hot here that by noon, you just have to retreat to the hostel, pick a comfortable resting state and not move until sundown. During this time, you WILL be lunched on by mosquitoes.

The first day. I arrived in the afternoon and was able to walk down to the supermarket and back.

The second day. I got up swimming in my own sweat. After I washed up, I walked to a vegetarian restaurant and had a fruit salad with ice-cream. Then strolled to the biggest church in Central America and took pictures of the lion statues.

The third day. I got up swimming in my own sweat. After I washed up, I walked around to the different churches. It was a Sunday and everything was closed. Surprisingly, even the churches.

The fourth day. I got up swimming in my own sweat. After I washed up, I went to El Fortín. See previous post.

The fifth day. I got up swimming in my own sweat. After I washed up, I went to the Heroes and Martyrs museum. It was a small room full of pictures of the revolutionaries that died in the late '70's and early '80's. Some of them were killed at El Fortín. There was a donation box in the back and the lady watching over the place pointed to the suggested donation sign every time we passed. They should just charge a fee instead of giving people an "option."

Next stop, a museum dedicated to a famous writer from Nicaragua. It was all in Spanish. I was too exhausted to try to read everything. Basically, the writings were about his life and works. There was a room full of colonial furniture and some of his published works. I think his name was Rueben Dario.

On my way back, I went to the fine art museum. Everything from religious paintings from the 1500's all the way up to contemporary artists. I didn't recognize any of the artists' names. The collection was so big that they have 2 buildings for all the pieces.

I also did some shopping this day. I paid too much for a tank top, all of $3 CAD, and a bra in the wrong size that I wasn't allowed to try on. Apparently it's unhygenic. Meagan has another theory. She thinks that there are so many lactating pregnant or new mothers in Latin America, it would be unhygenic to try the bras on in fear of transferring germs via the breast milk. I would rather think that it is so damned hot that people are sweating for most of the day that the excess sweat would stain the material of the bras thus devaluing the $7 CAD bra.

El Fortín, Nicaragua

Today I went up to El Fortín. This is the place the government built in the ´70’s to imprison and torture to death revolutionaries. Revolutionaries such as university students and political activists. Meagan and I took a taxi up a hill speckled with colourful plastic wrappers. The abandoned one-story concrete structure didn’t look intimidating from the outside. We walk in through the front hall and into the prisoner holding area. The circular domed area was sectioned off into four cells. Most of them still have the bars intact. There were slits with bars on the exterior walls to let a little bit of light in. I guess to let the prisoners know that they survived another day.

I stood in the centre absorbing all this feeling my neck muscles tense and my stomach wrought with nausea. There was no evidence of torture or of any of the going-ons of this place. Just hollow and empty rooms but I was overwhelmed with disparity. Some say people can feel energies and though I am not a believer of such fables, this “feeling energy” would be the best description.

I walked down another passage way to the back exterior area. There was a kitchen and toilet facilities. These are now owned by the critters that dwell in the dark. I think I might have seen the shadows of rats scurrying.

I walked on the roof. From here you can see the beautiful volcanoes in the distance and all the green leading up to them.

I walked to the side. There were two solid concrete cellars no wider than a small coffee table and no taller than myself (5’2”). When the prisoners didn’t die after the torture they were put here and locked up until they did.

How fitting for this to be the “castle” of the garbage dump. The nausea stayed with me for most of the day.

Leon, Nicaragua (1)

My first evening in Leon consisted of a group of four people coming together to bitch about Mark, who one of the gals I met aptly referred to him as a disgruntled traveller. I met him in Panama and have travelled with him for a few weeks. Me being the nice person I am, just never got enough gumption to just tell him to fuck off. I just kinda ran away at the very end in Granada. To give an example of this guy’s character, here's an excerpt from an email I wrote to a friend.

“I met this guy Mark 3 weeks ago and we've been travelling together. He likes me. I told him I'm not interested, that he's like a little brother to me. Well, I found out that almost everywhere we've been, he's been telling people that I'm, in not so FEW words, that I'm an easy tramp. What a brilliant way to keep the peace and at the same time, cutting down the competition. Because if you told me that the guy I like sleeps with everything, I would definitely lose interest. However, that's not so brilliant for me. In fact I am so fucking livid at this fucking asshole, whom I actually trusted for a while, that I spent this morning crying in my hotel room. If I did it, I will admit it. Don't make up bullshit about me for selfish benefits. Never mind that, don't make up bullshit about me period.”

I never thought that in my travels that I would meet someone I would detest so much.

Horseback riding for 5 hours

I hurt. I hurt. I hurt. I have blisters in places where the sun don’t shine. I can’t sit. I can’t stand. I can’t lie down. I paid money to do this. And I don’t regret it.

I was in a region called Miraflor. We rode, actually the horse kinda went and I held on, up and down this mountain surrounded by farms and ranches to these caves where the indigenous people use to get their chalk for colouring their pottery and to a cave where they used to get rocks to make their tools. They weren’t big caves but the experience and the history was interesting.

I stayed overnight on a farm with no electricity or running water. For my shower, I had a bucket of water and a bowl. They had recently (last couple of years) installed a couple of outhouses. People used to just go into the fields to do their business. The government had started a campaign on sanitation awareness a few years back and apparently it’s been working.

The house is just a square brick structure but it seems to work for them. I slept in a shed with a corrugated roof and a flying ant’s nest outside my door. Yes, the mosquito net went up. It got dark around 7 pm and we used candles to find our way around. I went to bed around 8 am and woke up around 6 am to the sound of all the roosters going crazy. Surprisingly, I found a position where I didn’t wince and slept fairly sound.

I originally wanted to stay there for a few more days, but I’m really not a roughing it type girl, especially if I don’t have any of the equipment – like warm clothes.

So, I’m in Leon now. Gonna chill for a few days until I can walk normally again. Then I’m heading to the beach.

Esteli, Nicaragua

I get into town and head to the recommended cheap hotel. When I got there, a female was speaking ina a loud voice and I thought she was scolding her children. Turns out she's noticeably upset and when I looked at one of the staff, he indicated that I should go elsewhere. I really needed no prompting.

I went to another hotel close by which was double the price at $12 USD but I got my own room, bathroom with hot water and cable TV. Nice even though reception was rather frosty.

This town is dusty and devoid of anything really interesting. I ended up booking a tour at a nearby nature reserve to go horseback riding to see some caves and to stay in a a local farm. $37 USD for a day's activity including lodging and food doesn't sound half bad. And I get to ride horsies. This would be the second time in my life on a horse. I hope I don't fall off.

I originally wanted to return to Esteli for a few days but I could see myself watching TV all day. At least I was able to update my blog some more.... :)

Selva Negra, Nicaragua

Today I trekked around in trails that promised wildlife, such as monkeys. The trails were simple, which I had no trouble doing, and the exercise was great. I opted for an easy trail, which should have taken about 30 mins. Well, I get lost in a city with perfect street signs, so my original 1 hour trek plan turned into 1 hour trek + 3 hours trying to find my way out of the forest. The paths were easy to navigate and if it got dark, I could scream and I'm sure someone, at least the monkeys, would hear me. Wait... they would probably assume that the screaming would be coming from the howler monkeys, who make this incredibly disgusting moaning sound. Like if someone was possesed in a seance. I think I also sprained my foot. It was throbbing when I left the site but it seems ok now that I've been off it for a while.

So, I had my nature fix. And it was great. Tomorrow I'm gonna head to Estelí to find some caves.

Oh, and for those curious, I saw no animals.

Matagalpa, Nicaragua

So far, nobody has spoken to me in English. This is a good thing. This town is squished between a river and a mountain range. I walked the length of the town in about 20 minutes. Great stuff. Tomorrow, I'll be going to go on some trails through a nature reserve. I hope the howler monkeys won't attack me. Apparently, so they say, that this region, as in Central America, is great for seeing wildlife. I haven't seen anything special yet. Maybe an iguana and some bluejays, sooooooooooooo hopefully I will see something tomorrow.

OK, so I'm a bit behind.

Sorry guys, my blog is so far behind. If you scroll waaaaay down, there's a few stories that I was able to finish. I promise I'll fill in the blanks as soon as possible. I took a Spanish course this week and have been busy trying to get all these new verbs and vocab to stick to my head. I have finally made it into a lower intermediate level!! I learnt relative pronouns yesterday, and when I benchmark it to English, I am doing OK. No really fluent yet, but once I commit all this stuff to memory, I would be able to have better conversations. Yeah, that might take me awhile....

Tomorrow, I'll be going to a different city - Leon - and continue on with my trip. I can't believe it is March already!!!

That's it for now.

Granada, Nicaragua

Hoppity-hop hop
It took almost a whole day to get to Granada. I hitched a ride all the way to the docks and I jumped on the last ferry to the mainland. I hopped a bus to the outskirts of this city and it was pitch black by the time I got there. Luckily some locals showed me where the city was and I hopped onto another bus.

The hostel (Bearded Monkey) has lukewarm showers and I’ve never been so happy. Most showers are quite cold.

This city has a lot of beautifully restored colonial building. I think the history is that William Walker burnt most of the city down and a lot of the buildings have been or are being restored.

I’m gonna stay here for a week and take some more Spanish classes. My first class was good. 1 hour of practice exercises to review the usage of the verb -to like, which I thought I knew but I obviously needed the practice. The second hour was with a different teacher who drilled and drilled me on verb conjugations. I also learned debe- must and debe de-might be. Tomorrow I get 3 hours. I think the 3rd hour will be vocab building and conversation. The place is called One on One and charges $5 USD and hour.

Man Biking through Mexico and Central America
I was talking to this older gentleman who was riding his mountain bike through Central America and Mexico. Highlights from this conversation because the guy kept talking and talking and talking and talking….

* Mexico is dirty, as in garbage and dead animals he had to ride over.

* Most villagers are friendly, allowing him and his son to camp on their land. They are often invited in, sometimes even for a meal at no cost, as in the villagers refused to take any kind of money. The gringos would then try to give some of their belongings, like a shirt, to them. Some people accepted that.

* They once camped in a town’s recreational court, like a basketball area or something, and the kids kept coming to them, giving them some food in case they were hungry, and blankets in case they got cold.

* They bought clothing from some of the indigenous citizens without haggling and have seen some jump immediately on a bus to the market to buy necessities. He doesn’t mind paying $20 USD for a shirt an old lady took 2 weeks to sew and embroider. Makes absolute sense, as the $20 could feed the family for a few days. A week, if you’re cheap.

* They took family portraits of them and plan to send them each a copy after they get home.

Week at the Bearded Monkey Hostel
The first few days were tough. I was feeling like shite so I didn’t do much but wake up, eat, nap, eat, computer, movie, sleep. I did sign myself up for Spanish classes, so Tuesday to Friday, I sub’d computer time with classes and I fit homework time before the movies.

Movies I watched: Manchurian Candidate (remake), The Fourth World War, A Place Called Chiapas, a movie in German about the last few days in Hitler’s bunker, The World According to Bush and Perro Sangre or Sangre Perros (Dog blood/Bloody Dog). They were all pretty thought provoking.

Then, starting Friday, things started to blur because the drinking began. Over the course of the weekend I went to 2 salsa clubs, 1 regular club and a bar. General drunken debauchery. Other people, that is.

The coolest thing is that I met this guy from BC who gold pans and we spent quite a bit of time talking about it. I wanted to talk to him some more but I didn’t want him to think that I was trying to pick him up. I hung out with some really cool guys and I was laughing most of the time. Hanno is from Austria and looks and acts rather politely but would, now and then, throw a comment in that would send me rolling with laughter. David is from Seattle and is interestingly laid back. This kid is such a sweetheart. He drew a picture of me on the whiteboard in the hostel. I thought that was so sweet. Jason was the most appealing. We talked a lot about outlooks on life and personal philosophies. Really deep conversations, which is a nice changed from, “Hey, Dude.”

Then there was Adrian, whom I met the last night I was there. She is (I might get this wrong) a social anthropologist who works as a post disaster, pre-morgue de-morguer (collects data off dead people before they go to the morgue) who is working on her Ph.D. in economics. Plus she can crack a dirty joke better than any of the guys. I had a lot of fun in that hostel.

Isla Ometepe, Nicaragua

This island in the middle of the lake is made up of 2 volcanoes. Little villages are scattered along the coasts. The guide book says there are frequent buses that go to various parts of the island. There are not. We (people I met on the rickety ferry) ended up taking a bus halfway, walking for about 30 mins, hitching a ride in the back of a pick-up, walking for another 20 mins, and finally hitching a ride in the back of a banana truck. The road was so rocky that I couldn't really do anything except to hang on for dear life. It was great!

The place we stayed at was incredible. Lake side grass huts with dirt floors and a sheet flapping in the wind as a door. The teenagers wroking there are earning money for school. There are evening classes for the locals in the common area. The students were aged 10 all the way to 30+ and they were learning how to add. Proceeds from the hostel funds these classes as well. Makes you appreciate how lucky you are.

The locals on the island are great. Most of the kids stop and say hello and chat. When I was leaving for another part of the island, it was lunch time and about 10 kids, ages 3 to about 10, surrounded me, going through my open bag, curious about all the books I had. Then they scrounged in their schoolbags and found pictures of Asian people to show me. In horror, I saw the Jehovah Witness pamphlets waving everywhere. Luckily, none of them preached to me. I also had a small jar of peanut butter that I let the kids try. Tiny little fingers dug into the jar. Some liked it, some didn't. I think one kid threw up. I ended up giving away the jar to one of the kids, which he finished off quite quickly.

Well, the bus didn't come as scheduled so I started walking. Some small kid approched me to ask if he could guide me to the next town for a small fee. I declined even though he was holding a machette.

There are farm animals everywhere. You're walking along and you have to cross the street because there is a cow or a pig chillin' at the side of the road. The stray dogs here are so skinny. You can see almost all their bones. Even the kept dogs are alarmingly skinny.

The second day, I headed to Finca Magdelena (finca = farm) on the opposite side of the same volcanoe. As I said above, no bus. I ended up walking for most of the way. About 3/4 of the way to the next town (about 1 hour's walk) I managed to hitch a ride in the back of a pick-up to the next town. This town has a road that splits - one to go to the other volcanoe and the other towards the finca. I jumped off, took 5 mins to rest and have some water (about 30 degrees Celcius) and continued. I got to the fist small village and stopped for lunch.

It was about 12:30 so I had walked a total of maybe 2 hours. And as I was talking to waitress, the bus drove by. Luckily another one was scheduled for 2:30. I sat/slumped down onto a chair in the restaurant/house/hut/farm/movie theatre ( they were showing a movie on their TV and there was a crowd) and waited for my food. Oversalty greasy eggs with rice and beans. I secretly fed most of it to the dogs.

FINALLY going to Nicaragua

Crossing the border was surprisingly easy, considering the bus company handled and prepared most of the formalities. It took forever to cover the little distance and it was night by the time we arrived at Rivas, Nicaragua.

Thankfully, things are a lot cheaper in Rivas. But so were the accommodations. The first place I looked at scared me quite a bit. The second place was quite run down but acceptable. Especially for $4.50 USD each.