In the El Salvador airport on a... 5 hour layover?
Mas o menos. The last few days in Managua were wonderful. So great, I was too tired to write. We left Esteli on the 11th and went to Tisey. It was incredibly foggy but still gorgeous. The quick jaunt through the forest ended in what was a beautiful view, but we could barely see the view through the fog, haha....
took pictures then hiked back down. We were supposed to stay the night in the Tisey resort (which was adorned with gorgeous plants and flowers), but they were taking forever to clean our room. So we took a nighttime roadtrip to Managua! I thought it was fun.
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| Tisey |
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| Jill at the bottom of the hike. Notice how hazy this picture is because of the fog! |
The next day we attended a meeting at the Ben Linder House about the Spanish project in the dump. I understood very little, but Jill brought me up to speed about what the concerns and successes are of the project. We also went to the only -- in the world -- fair trade "sweat shop" without the unjust sweat. It was started by women who lost everything from Hurricane Mitch and needed work. So they started making clothes! From organic cotton and non-organic cotton. Beautiful clothes. Of course I had to buy some :).
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Ben Linder was an American engineer who stood for the Nicaraguan social rights, and assisted the people
with things like building solar panels in small communities...
This mural shows him on his unicycle, which he would ride around in these communities. |
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He was assassinated. And the Ben Linder House was built after his
death in remembrance and dedication. |
How could I forget to write this! Our last day in Esteli (10th) was friggin awesome because we went to a cigar factory!!! I smoked one there of course, in the room that said smoking is prohibited haha. The tour guide made me do it! Cigar purchase= well worth it.
We bought lots of stuff that day...
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| You betchya! |
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| Everything from the boxes to the cigars are "made" in this one factory! |
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| Dried tobacco |
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| Selecting the tobacco leaves... |
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| Tobacco shavings that will be reused as cigar filler |
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| Leaves |
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| The rolling line |
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| Smoking is prohibited in this room! |
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| Well then let's light up! |
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| First cigar!! |
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| Lucy blowin' O's because she's that bad ass! |
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| Finished product |
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| They had a zoo in the cigar factory- it was quite strange! |
Then, I got sick. Que triste. Happens to all travelers sometime though- right? But it didn't have to do with the cigar. I just had it coming. Thank god I wasn't in el Lagartillo!
So, back to the 12th.
We saw the dump, or at least the outskirts, and the conditions those families are living in. Really? REALLY. I didn't want to see anymore. It was awful. And hundreds of families are living there. Can you imagine? I thought I knew, but I didn't.
And on to the days highlight... duh duh nuh nuh nuh!
Me and Jill went zip lining!!! Over a laguna! I wasn't even going to go but then Jill offered to pay for my ticket (by this point my pockets were nearly empty), and I was so glad she did. It was so much fun :). I can't wait to do it again in another place-- I totally would in a heart beat.
Delicious dinner. More chicken- excellent chicken.
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| pre-zip lining |
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| PUMP IT UP!! |
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| Tiscapa Laguna |
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| Prepping |
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| That's me zip lining, yes!!!! :D |
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| Me zip lining in on the last route... |
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Me and Jill post zip lining.
Can you see the adrenaline in our eyes?? |
August 13th.
Chacocente. This is my place. I want to volunteer here. It's a place/program that takes families out of the dump and gives them a home in a community. It was started by an American woman and has since flourished. the families are given land, and build their own home with the skills taught to them by Chacocente employees. From there they are taught how to make crafts (like hammocks and bracelets) and many other things.
They build a life. For FREE. A family agrees to a 5 year contract that entitles them to the land with a few rules, or guidelines as we'll call them. The contract does not seal them in the community- they can leave if they want. But the land belongs to Chacocente, and they cannot sell it.
But one family has continuously lived there for 7 years now- 2 years past the contract. Awesome. They take in 8-9 families and are currently full.
I got the feeling that I would return to that place. Maybe I'll roam Guatemala and take a language school course, then head to Chacocente to volunteer. Next summer? Yeah :)
Saw the volcano.
Saw Granada- a beautiful colonial city. Got sweet pics, man.
Had pizza and beer for dinner. Smoked a cigar con Lucy and talked about the trip. I have a 5 page paper to write. Yippee. Hahaha. It was an excellent last day.
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| Chillin' in the hammock |
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| At the volcano. The sulfur was unbearable, so we had to wear gas masks! |
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| Outskirts of volcano...Best shot I could get. The sulfur smoke was out of control! |
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| The dump in Managua, where hundreds of families are living. |
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| Chacocente |
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| Classroom in Chacocente school- where families receive FREE schooling for their children |
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| I love their colorful swing sets :) |
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One of the makeshift homes in Chaco, reflecting a family's ability to make a home
with random materials (which they learned by living in the dump). |
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| One of the more sturdy homes. |
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Omar, Chacocente employee and tour guide,
standing in front of the pathway I fell in love with. |
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| View of Granada, the colonial city, from on top of a church roof |
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| Beautimous! |
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| On the rooftop |
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| Beer and cigars on the last night. I was happy about it! |
And now here I am. Goodbye Nicaragua, hello El Salvador airport. As the plane took off, I felt a twinge of sadness that I was leaving. I may have been literally eaten by mosquitoes and wondered what I was even doing there half the time... but now I miss it. Terribly. I just want to see that countryside one more time.
Too late.
En route.
The smells of San Francisco are taunting me.
To drive along the coast homeward to Ashland, or to take the short way to avoid a run-in with a cop who's just
dying to ticket me for expired plates?
I'm a risk taker lately.
And the Pacific is beyond worth it <3
5:20 p.m.
You'll never guess what show is on in the airport right now...
VERONICA MARS.
Yeah. There's no volume, but I know the words and this episode back to back ;).
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