Moving On

I'm sitting on the patio at La Mariposa enjoying some unusually dry weather for October. Despite warnings about torrential downpours and heavy winds, this month has commenced in a much gentler fashion, with sunny yet cool days and light rain in the evenings. While a continuation of this pattern bodes well for my intended travel north, it does NOT bode well in general for Nicaragua, as the dry season is quite long and water shortages are not uncommon at its peak.

I was mulling over the water situation while brushing my teeth this morning. At least in La Concha, most houses do not have running water in the way that those of us living in the US think of it. Many homes are linked up to the municipal water system; however, water usually flows only two or three times a week for a few hours, which is why most homes have a pile, or water tank, in which to store water during the off times. Folks leave the tap over the pile open so that once the water starts running, the pile is sure to fill up. After that, all water  - for drinking, bathing, washing dishes, etc. - is taken from the pile on an as-needed basis.

In the dry season, however, water from the municipality may be in short supply, and Paulette told me that she once went over a month without receiving water. In this case, the only options are locating another source (e.g. a well), if available, and hauling water to the house, or paying to have a truckload of water brought in, which costs about $250! Aside from the fact that this amount is well out of reach of a typical household here, it occurred to me how much more expensive that is than buying water in the States. And the level of water consumption here can't hold a candle to that of the US. Just another thing to be conscious of upon my return.

It's hard to believe that my time at La Mariposa is drawing to a close. I've decided to head to Leon on Sunday so that I can spend Saturday hanging out with my family before I leave. This week, I've been cramming to learn the various subjunctive verb tenses and soaking up my remaining time with family, friends and staff here. It will be hard to say goodbye, although I plan to swing back through here after my time up North so that I can see everyone again before I head east.

Last weekend, we made a day trip to Leon and visited some very interesting spots, including the immense cathedral (supposedly intended for construction in Lima, Peru until a crafty official switched the construction plans), an art museum with an excellent collection of paintings and sculptures by Central American artists, a museum paying homage to the memory of FSLN leaders slain in the 80s, and an indigenous barrio called Subtiava that dates from pre-Columbian times. I am looking forward to spending more time in Leon and possibly doing some hiking in the string of nearby volcanoes.

Last weekend was also marked by two celebrations in the house. First, on Friday night, we celebrated Yaser's 4th birthday with cake, cookies (yes, they turned out!) and my new favorite Nica dish, Arroz de Valencia, which reminded me a bit of paella with chicken and chorizo (which I picked out) rather than seafood. Yaser spent the day talking about how it was his cumpleanos and walking around with the small gift bag given to him by his parents, which contained a new pair of socks and some soap. Here are a couple of photos from the big event:

Saturday night, upon returning from Leon, I was invited to sip some rum with Mirelde, a cousin of the family visiting from Managua. I guess that opened the floodgates, because it was decided that we would then drink some beer in honor of my last full weekend in town, and everyone joined in the fun. We had a blast watching old music videos from the 80s, which they kept asking me to translate, and I was feeling very thankful (ironically) that the songs were by Brian Adams, Chicago, Queen, etc. in that the sentiment of the songs was fairly easy to convey in my stilted Spanish. Imagine if they had put on Rage Against the Machine or Tori Amos! Later in the evening, everyone got up to dance to the immensely popular tunes from the Caribbean coast of Nica. Not surprisingly, I was thoroughly outdanced by my Nica hosts! I couldn't have asked for a better sendoff.

Unfortunately, we got some sad news this morning about Lucy, the horse. She apparently suffered a heart attack and died, no doubt related to her injury of several weeks ago. It's incredibly sad for everyone here, especially since it had seemed that she had survived the worst, although perhaps she was suffering more than anyone knew.

OK, kids, that's all the news from here. Hope those of you in New England are enjoying the onset of Fall - my favorite season - and if anyone wants to send me photos of leaves changing color, feel free! And I'll leave you with a couple of photos from last Sunday's baseball game in the backyard.