Nicaragua - Message 6

Hello All

Yes, it has been a long time since I have written, but understand that between December 12th and January 4th I had six guests! Stacy arrived on the 12th, raring to go. She was here with me in July when I bought my house in San Juan del Sur and totally understands my life here. When I say that it is pretty much impossible for me to use Skype or that I can never set up an appointment to call someone at a particular time, well, Stacy “gets” it. You actually have to see how I am living my life here to see that is totally different than life in the U.S. At any moment my whole day can change unexpectedly and often does. That is part of the adventure. People who are used to structure in their lives and creature comforts would never get along living here. In my house, I have no hot water, no TV or Internet service, many times no electricity (which means no water), often strange creatures (now frogs and baby land crabs greet me in my house in the mornings), but I also have lush gardens, peace and serenity, killer sunsets, jungle sounds, hammocks hanging and great neighbors.

So…when Stacy arrived, she was feeling a bit under the weather with a respiratory ailment that seemed to turn into bronchitis. But like the trooper she is, she never said no to a decent adventure or chance to dance. Even though we had plans to go to the Caribbean side of Nicaragua, there were thunderstorms there during the week we were going to go and since you go there for the beach experience (there isn’t much more to do there), it wasn’t worth going. However, we managed to go to our favorite nightclub in Managua on ladie’s night. Got in free, drank free and got to see the most amazing male dance show, also free. This dance show is not of the Chippendale sort. All clothes are on…it is just a demonstration of the most incredible dancing I think I have ever seen. Mostly reggaeton music, all fast, but all good. (And the guys were not hard to take either.)

We also visited Volcan Masaya, where you can pretty much approach close to the lip of the crater and peer in. No fences, no ropes. Heck, you can jump in if you want. No one will stop you. Voluminous clouds of poison gas are constantly emanating from the crater. If they blow your way, you just move or hold your breath. This volcano has a couple more neat things about it. At dusk, every single day, thousands of green parrots who forage for food far away during the day return home to the holes they build inside the crater. They have adapted to the poisonous gases and raise their young there. You can count on them returning like clockwork. Also, there is a night tour in this volcano (Talia and I did it last year) where you actually walk into a lava tube formed by the last eruption (this is one of the most active volcanoes in Nicaragua; it spits up rocks and hot stuff every now and then. You have to park cars backwards in the parking lot ─ so the front of the car is facing the exit ─ in case you have to make a quick getaway). As you walk through the tube, you are greeted by hundreds of bats, but you can’t see them very well unless you turn on your head lamp. They brush by you and if you just snap your camera in the dark, you are sure to be rewarded with a few bats in the photo since there are so many. This tour also takes you right to the lip of the crater where the crazy tour guides allow you to stand literally with your toes hanging over the edge to peer down at the bubbling red lava below. Like Talia said, “What a way to go!”

Stacy and I also went to the beautiful Masaya Market where all the artisans bring their goods. Hand-woven hammocks, primitive paintings, pottery, straw baskets and jewelry. Everything is there. I’m decorating my house with Native Nicaraguan art, so it was a good place to start. From the 12th to the 26th we spent most of our time in San Juan del Sur, visiting different beaches, dancing, meeting tourists from all over the world. Since July, San Juan has added two upscale restaurants, one owned by am American couple, the other by a British and Italian couple. The food is superb, you can get a few types of wine, and in one you can even have fancy martinis! Everyone agrees that the San Juan del Sur beach restaurants that serve the very freshest of fish and typical Nica food AND the touristy restaurants are all fabulous. Not a single bad food day in Nicaragua! Also, a well-kept secret: the restaurants in the local market serve wonderful Nica food including the famous gallo pinto (small red beans and rice) and during season, nacatamales (a type of tamale similar to the ones they make in Chiapas, Mexico). These meals in the market typically cost $2.00 per person. Stacy and I spent Christmas day on a 4-hour sunset cruise on a 42 foot sloop with my neighbor Lisa and her family and friends. Had a Christmas turkey dinner at our fanciest hotel (not where I normally eat), Pelican Eyes, with the same group. The Nicaraguans spend Christmas, which is celebrated on the 24th, not the 25th, in different ways, much less extravagant than our customs. Generally, families get together for a meal in the later evening, around 10:00 p.m. At midnight many go out dancing, which is the big thing to do on Christmas and New Year’s. Every single Nicaraguan can dance well, from two years old and up. In Nicaragua, if you can stand, you can dance! Those who can afford it may have lights on their houses or a small (fake) Christmas tree. However, many do not have any decorations or adornments in their homes. Gifts are not exchanged except in the rich Nicaraguan families; these people celebrate Christmas much the way we do in the U.S. because they have the money to do so.

On the 26th (or 27th?) Andrew, Ruth, Skot, Peter and Deby arrived, all from England (Devon). Peter and Deby have been living in Granada since September, volunteering in a school for disabled students. They teach the students (who can) to make things (woven goods, little painted cars, etc. ) so they can sell them. I met Peter and Deby via email when Andrew introduced them to me. I then met them in person once I moved down there and I must say I liked them immediately! Andrew and I have been friends since 1998 (can’t believe it has been that long!) and visit each other when we can. I know Andrew’s kids Roz and David and met Ruth in England when she and Skot entered Andrew’s life, also in 1998 (I think). The five of them joined Stacy and me in my humble home and it worked out great! We bought a large dorado fish from the fishermen on the beach the first night and made a terrific meal. Andrew cooked the fish in a coconut sauce, I made a salad and rice and we had Chilean wine. Way after dinner (around 11:00 pm) Stacy and I went to town, leaving our British guests to visit and relax. We spent the last week of the year visiting a different gorgeous beach each day, eating dinner together at some wonderful restaurants and then Stacy and I would go out dancing.

San Juan del Sur is crazy the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Thousands of people from Managua descend upon the town and fill up the hotels, restaurants and night clubs. They even constructed two “tent” discos on the beach to accommodate all the people. They charge too much for these clubs and the natives of San Juan del Sur can’t afford them….so our favorite place is the local San Juan del Sur disco, the place where we spent New Year’s Eve and where it only costs $1.50 to get in, rather than $50.00 per person, which one of the “tent” clubs was charging! They even block off the streets with cement posts (which they remove again after New Year’s) because they are afraid that these young rich kids from Managua who are driving their parents’ new SUVs will knock down people in the street with their fast and negligent driving manners.

Our last two days (before all the guests went home) were spent in Granada, where Deby and Peter live. Everyone likes this town. It’s colonial, beautiful, on a lake, very upscale, very Western, but still with a Nica flavor. We visited the school where Deby and Peter volunteer and were charmed by the simplicity, the hard work of the students and the goal of the school to help these kids earn a small living, something they would never be able to do otherwise. Unfortunately, school is out right now, but we did meet one of the enterprising students who was working on a hand loom to make a table covering. We bought some small cars that the other students had made to give out to children. Again, we ate fabulously and spent our last night in Café Nuit, dancing to a local band and enjoying the evening with our friends, both local and foreign. I wish Stacy, Andrew, Ruth, Skot, Deby and Peter and all of you a happy and healthy new year.

To follow up with an earlier story, Lonely Planet has contacted me and will be giving me a test next week. If I pass the test, I will get a contract. It does not mean I will get an assignment right away, but if I have a contract, I will be on the list of authors to hire. My goal is to update the Nicaragua handbook, which even though it just came out, is sorely out of date. Keep your fingers crossed!!!

And now, as all my guests have left, I officially begin my new life in Nicaragua. I have no idea what to expect, but I know it will be great.

I'll figure out how to do photographs here next time...

For any of you who would like to send me a letter or card, I now have a postal address (not the bills Lyn - still working on a better address for that):

Bonnie Hayman
PO Box 98 San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

cell phone: 505 483-2681 (if you want a cheaper call, get a calling card to Nicaragua on the Internet) It costs me nothing to receive a call from the States, but a lot to call out from my cell phone. No possibility of land line in the house either.

Bonnie