When Blogging is Work

So, I've been feeling pretty lazy about blogging lately; not sure why. Maybe my four days in Miraflor followed by a divine massage in Esteli sapped my last shred of ambition as far as writing is concerned, or maybe because it's the halfway point in my trip and I'm doubting my willingness to keep this up for another 8 weeks. Whatever the reason, I've thought about the blog several times over the past few days but really haven't felt inspired to write. Still, for the sake of preserving my memories of the past ten days or so, I figured I'd do well to at least try and write a bit about what I've been up to.

First off, Miraflor: it was a very relaxing few days, I met some very kind people and gained a much deeper appreciation for the hard work that the campesino life entails. My first day, I hopped a chicken bus at 6 a.m. and was psyched to meet a fellow traveler, a French woman named Stephanie, on the bus. We chatted during the 2+ hour slog up through the hills, choking on exhaust fumes all the way. Since Stephanie wasn't familiar with the different communities within Miraflor and had just kind of hopped a bus in that general direction, she decided to hang with me and we spent the day hiking the trails around Posada la Sonada, the finca where I spent my first two nights, including walking through lots of coffee bushes, checking out an amazing, ancient tree with a hollow trunk that could be climbed and visiting a 'laguna' that turned out to be more of a swamp and where our feet were tortured by biting ants. We also enjoyed some terrific meals prepared by the matron of the house, Dona Corina, and the best coffee I've yet to enjoy in Nica.

Speaking of which, I decided to buy a pound of coffee to take with me and was glad I did, as it meant that I got to see the coffee roasting process in action. First, the dried beans were put into a big wooden bucket where they were pounded with a giant wooden pestle in order to remove the dried husks, which were then removed from the bucket by scooping up the beans in a bowl and pouring them back in from high above so that the beans would drop into the bucket while the lighter skins would be carried off by the breeze. I could kick myself for not taking photos because the description can't really do justice to the process, but rest assured that it was impressive. Once the skins were removed, the beans were placed in a  big pot over an open flame and were patiently stirred by the Dona for nearly two hours to evenly roast them. I imagine that most places have some kind of machine for carrying out these processes on a large scale, but here I was both impressed and dismayed at the amount of effort that went into processing my one pound of beans. The coffee smells incredible, and as I have no option but to carry it around in my backpack, I've been tempted many times by the aroma of what smells like freshly brewing coffee, only to discover that it's actually just the smell of the beans wafting out of my open backpack. Ah well, I'm sure I'll get to enjoy them at some point.

Anywho, I enjoyed a couple of relaxing days at La Posada, hiking during the day and chilling on the porch with my book at night until I was interrupted by the sunset. My accommodation consisted of a small cabin with a bed, mosquito net, small table and a couple of candles (since the cabins had no electricity). The family at the Posada were very gracious but seemed fairly preoccupied with chores during my time there, so I was excited when on my second night, a Canadian guy and his Nica tour guide, Anry, arrived to spend the night. I was cracking up at Anry's many stories of encounters with coral snakes, scorpions, etc. (which were funnier than you might think) and he gave me some good suggestions for the rest of my time here. Also, it POURED rain for hours the night they came, so I was doubly glad for the company.

My little cabina at La Posada Sonada

The next morning, I traveled by horseback with a guide to my next destination of El Coyolito, a community in the lower zone of Miraflor. I was afraid that the roads would be horrendous after all the rain, but my horse managed to navigate pretty well and it was a glorious morning for a ride. My guide, Darby, is a 21-year old who has lived his whole life in Miraflor, and I enjoyed hearing his perspective on the community, the tourism industry and ideas for promoting Miraflor as a destination while preserving the lifestyle and ecosystem of the place.

My second homestay family was lovely and I had a much higher level of interaction with them since I was actually staying in their house. The father of the house, Nelson, was very chatty, and I had fun learning card games from him and his 8-year old son, Feliz Eduard, who turned out to be a bit of a card shark. On a more serious note, Nelson also told me some truly awful stories about the bloodshed that occurred in this area of the country during the Revolution and again during the Contra war and how just about every family had at least one member murdered in some brutal way, often simply because they were suspected of aiding the opposition. Nelson's wife, Lorena, was a bit more shy but equally gracious and an excellent cook. I spent a rather uneventful but relaxing couple of days there, taking long walks along the dirt roads and getting lost multiple times in my quest to reach a 'cascada', which turned out to be a fairly tiny waterfall with wire fencing running across the middle of it. I did get a good chuckle when, walking along the road one day, a farmer who looked to be in his sixties gave me a big smile and pronounced me 'guapisima', as i had just been thinking how un-guapisima I must look drenched from head to toe in sweat, face bright red and hair frizzing out in all directions. I almost jumped the fence to give him a hug.

Lemons on steroids

After Miraflor, I returned to spend another day and evening in Esteli, which included the above-mentioned fantastic massage ($5 for an hour), a visit to the Galeria de Heroes y Martires, a touching museum dedicated to fallen soldiers of the Revolution that is maintained by the mothers of said soldiers, and a visit to a cigar factory where I got to see firsthand the process of making cigars by hand. It was seriously impressive! I'm not sure how a cigar factory usually operates, but at this place they do everything from cutting, painting and drying the cigar boxes; drying the tobacco and prepping the leaves for rolling; and finally, rolling, molding, trimming and storing the cigars. At the end, I felt as though I should pick up the habit of smoking Nicaraguan cigars in order to support a business that employs such a large workforce and in appreciation of the craftsmanship that goes into the creation of the cigars. Unfortunately, doing so might make those long slogs up the side of a mountain even more strenuous.

From Esteli, I hopped a bus to Matagalpa, a small city due east of Esteli known for being a hub of coffee production and exportation. I found Matagalpa to be a pleasant city, safe and very easy to navigate, with some good restaurants and coffee shops. However, the real fun in Matagalpa began when I signed up for a two-hour city tour through the hostel where I was staying. Turns out that it's a new operation and I was the very first customer! My tour guides, two guys in their early 20s, were really nice and fun and seemed really enthused about giving their first tour, taking pictures all along the way to post on their Facebook page. Hence, my face may become somewhat famous in these parts...

Me and my guides, Minor and Memo

The guys also invited me to a concert that night - a well-known reggae singer from the Atlantic coast of Nica - which turned out to be a  fantastic time. Music was terrific, lots of people singing and dancing, and afterwards we went to a local cafe/bar with a big group of people where I had a blast chatting with a bunch of young Nicas (and one woman from Germany). For better or for worse, it was the first time in Nica that I had to slink into my dorm room in the wee hours so as not to wake my bunkmates. I must say, it felt great!

The last two days have been spent away from the city, at an American-owned coffee plantation east of town known as Finca Esperanza Verde. I found the place through my Lonely Planet guide and was intrigued to check it out based on the many accolades it has received for being a model of sustainable ecotourism and for its reputation for having 'sensational' coffee. While not exactly an authentic Nica experience, I loved my two days there! The setting was absolutely gorgeous, the coffee more or less lived up to the hype, the food was excellent and I got to see howler monkeys, frogs and an amazing array of birds.

Also, I met a group of American students there who were on a weeklong break from a study abroad program in El Salvador and had a great time chatting with them, learning about life in El Salvador and listening to them talk about issues of social justice with which they are being confronted during this semester. I was impressed by their introspectiveness at a relatively young age and was also reminded of my time in Cameroon back in 1998. (As a cultural reference point, none of them had heard of 'Jem', Barbie's rockstar counterpart from the 80s - guess she didn't have the staying power of Barbie and her crew).

After a pleasant hour-long walk from the finca to the tiny town of Yucul this morning, followed by an hour-long chicken bus ride down the mountain, I find myself back in Matagalpa for one more night. I may get to do a bit of camping tonight with my guide friends, and the plan for tomorrow is to head to Granada for a couple of days before returning to La Concha for a brief stay. I received a message from one of the interns at La Mariposa today letting me know that there is a new student staying with my host family, and I can't deny that I am very sad that I won't be able to stay in the house when I pass back through town. Still, I am excited to visit with my family and friends for a bit before heading out on the road again. Also, it looks like I will have a travel buddy for Isla de Ometepe and San Juan del Sur - a guy from D.C. named Tom who I met at La Mariposa and who is just finishing up his studies there. I am excited to have a partner in crime with whom I can travel, at least for a brief stint, before continuing on to Costa Rica.

Love to everyone back in the States, especially to my dad whose birthday is tomorrow!