Happy town and Crazy town
There are two places I want to talk about in this blog and those are Matagalpa, Nicaragua and Utila in the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras.
Elke and Mary and I Met up in Leon, Nicaragua after Elke and I spent a little over a week exploring the lands of El Salvador of which I have much to share but I feel I should get you all current. My figures just cant type everything that I have to say. Ok so after Leon we head to a town called Matagalpa. The odd part about this is I was very hesitant to stay there. I had heard about a smaller town nearby named Jinotega that I was dead set on staying at. So we agreed to spend a night in a coffee finca and a night in Jinotega and then return to Matagalpa because Mary had her heart set there. I soon learned not to trust my prejudgment of the city.
Our brief interaction with the residents of Matagalpa before we boarded the bus to the Finca was hilarious and Elke and I soon nicknamed the city ¨Happy Town.¨ The coffee finca was something else. As we got off the bus and walked the kilometer driveway to the lodge we became surrounded by the coffee pickers taking their lunch break. It became very evident to us as we approached the lodge that this was a place for the rich and the unconcerned. Talking with the workers we learned the wages were not that high and they had to rent the baskets that thay used to pick the coffee from their employer each day. The three of us found ouselves quite preturbed by our surroundings. Granted the mountain itself we rested on was gorgeous but givng any kind of money to the finca just felt dirty. So we left the next day.
The next night in Jinotega we skirted what we deemed an almost robbery and felt very proud of our street smarts and awareness. The night was windy and town was dead so we rested and were ready to get back to Happy Town as soon as possible. My one note to say about Jinotega is that I found myself in a place of worship and felt enveloped within a warm blanket of care and love. I am not a religious person by any means and I have explored many churches and Temples and other places of worship but when we walked into the catholic church in the center of town we all sat in wondered and acknowledged to each other how good it felt to just be invited inside. There wasnt anything spectacular on the walls it just felt good. That is all I can really share about it.
So we made it back to Matagalpa and got our place to stay. Every single person on the street met us with a smile and we were feeling good. We had bought some chocolate the day before that was overwhelmingly tintilating and we soon learned that the factory was right there in Matagalpa so we decided for Elke´s last day with us that is what we would do. We soon discovered that all the chocolate was made by the hands of three women. We were in euphoria. They showed us every step and allowed us to taste every step. It was the purest chocolate I have every tasted. (And dont worry I am still hanging on to a bar to nibble slowly) Though we left with belly aches it was the most appetizing belly ache I had ever had.
Elke left us the next morning and it was just Mary and I. Happy Town did not let us down. We took walks around the city and soon made some good friends. On another day we went to a nearby town and saw a different process of coffee making where it was all made by the community that had become a cooperative and all the profits when right back into the community. I felt extremely honored and humbled to have their world shared with me. There is no question in my mind that the richest moments in life can be found anywhere and wealth is not accounted for in dollars.
Another day our new friends took us to their soccer game which I had been waiting to go to a local game my entire trip. Our team won by three, los ¨Atleticos¨ and afterwards we celebrated the dia inernacional de la Mujer ¨International day for Women¨ On march 8th. The energy in Happy Town that whole week had been so high and filling. Mary and I finally left happy town feeling spirited and fully alive ready for the next adventure.
Our next adventure required the addition of our friend Meredith who needed to make a visa run from Panama so she met up with us. We headed up to Honduras where she flew in and we made our way over to the Caribbean coast to catch a ferry to the Island Utila. I dont know if my description will give the reality of this island any justice but I will do my best.
Utila is a divers mecca of deep sea and sandy beaches. We walk of the ferry and are instantly bombarded by foreigners working in the dive shops trying to suck you in with their special deals and prices. We soon sidestepped the masses and found through the two cluttered streets that make up the only city on the island a cheap little place to stay filled with many other exuberant travelers. Though the accomodations were cheap the food was not and neither was the beer. The streets are filled with little spanish and mostly english though I cant really tell you that the english that is spoken by the locals is the english that I grew up speaking. I met many people that I could understand but everyonce in a while the three of us ladies were stopped in our tracks by someones conversation where the only way we knew it was english was by the random swear words that were shot out.
We found ourselves fitting right in and soon made friends with some fellow oregonians that worked at the nearby dive shop. Of course we won them over with our Meagan, Meredith and Mary charm and soon found the boat that would take Mary out for her dives and Meredith and I could tag along for some great snorkeling, lunch and all you can drink beers under the sun on their private beach. Not too shabby. Mere and I saw many beautiful fish and a spotted eagle ray. I also saw some 4 ft long fish whose name I cant remember but I know it started with a T. The biggest excitement was when we found ourselves floating over a feeding whale shark. We suited up quickly to get in the water but by the time we were about to jump in the beautiful creature had decided it wasnt our time and shooted off into the water.
Another day on the island we went exploring by land and hiked the highest peak (a tiny hill) called Pumpkin hill and saw the incredible greeness of the island that extended far beyond the compact bussling town of East Harbour. On the way back we skipped over the main road and found ourselves exploring beyond the main road. The smell soon overhwelmed us as we saw the marsh land below the high stilted houses covered in plastic trash that continued to compile. It was a disturbing sight considering how clean the front roads are. We were told that because the sidewalk going back into that section is so narrow they have no garbage pick up system and the residents have seemed to ignore it and continue to add to the waste. We were simply reminded that nothing is as it seems and it is importants to not take things at first glance for things can always change your perspective.
So I will leave you here. For date references we left Matagalpa on March 10th and I left Utila on the 18th. I am sorry that I have not posted anything about El Salvador or my time in San Jose too much however I have just not found the internet time I wanted and the world around keeps adding new elements and surprises. I hope for all of you who read this you are enjoying your own adventure.
Elke and Mary and I Met up in Leon, Nicaragua after Elke and I spent a little over a week exploring the lands of El Salvador of which I have much to share but I feel I should get you all current. My figures just cant type everything that I have to say. Ok so after Leon we head to a town called Matagalpa. The odd part about this is I was very hesitant to stay there. I had heard about a smaller town nearby named Jinotega that I was dead set on staying at. So we agreed to spend a night in a coffee finca and a night in Jinotega and then return to Matagalpa because Mary had her heart set there. I soon learned not to trust my prejudgment of the city.
Our brief interaction with the residents of Matagalpa before we boarded the bus to the Finca was hilarious and Elke and I soon nicknamed the city ¨Happy Town.¨ The coffee finca was something else. As we got off the bus and walked the kilometer driveway to the lodge we became surrounded by the coffee pickers taking their lunch break. It became very evident to us as we approached the lodge that this was a place for the rich and the unconcerned. Talking with the workers we learned the wages were not that high and they had to rent the baskets that thay used to pick the coffee from their employer each day. The three of us found ouselves quite preturbed by our surroundings. Granted the mountain itself we rested on was gorgeous but givng any kind of money to the finca just felt dirty. So we left the next day.
The next night in Jinotega we skirted what we deemed an almost robbery and felt very proud of our street smarts and awareness. The night was windy and town was dead so we rested and were ready to get back to Happy Town as soon as possible. My one note to say about Jinotega is that I found myself in a place of worship and felt enveloped within a warm blanket of care and love. I am not a religious person by any means and I have explored many churches and Temples and other places of worship but when we walked into the catholic church in the center of town we all sat in wondered and acknowledged to each other how good it felt to just be invited inside. There wasnt anything spectacular on the walls it just felt good. That is all I can really share about it.
So we made it back to Matagalpa and got our place to stay. Every single person on the street met us with a smile and we were feeling good. We had bought some chocolate the day before that was overwhelmingly tintilating and we soon learned that the factory was right there in Matagalpa so we decided for Elke´s last day with us that is what we would do. We soon discovered that all the chocolate was made by the hands of three women. We were in euphoria. They showed us every step and allowed us to taste every step. It was the purest chocolate I have every tasted. (And dont worry I am still hanging on to a bar to nibble slowly) Though we left with belly aches it was the most appetizing belly ache I had ever had.
Elke left us the next morning and it was just Mary and I. Happy Town did not let us down. We took walks around the city and soon made some good friends. On another day we went to a nearby town and saw a different process of coffee making where it was all made by the community that had become a cooperative and all the profits when right back into the community. I felt extremely honored and humbled to have their world shared with me. There is no question in my mind that the richest moments in life can be found anywhere and wealth is not accounted for in dollars.
Another day our new friends took us to their soccer game which I had been waiting to go to a local game my entire trip. Our team won by three, los ¨Atleticos¨ and afterwards we celebrated the dia inernacional de la Mujer ¨International day for Women¨ On march 8th. The energy in Happy Town that whole week had been so high and filling. Mary and I finally left happy town feeling spirited and fully alive ready for the next adventure.
Our next adventure required the addition of our friend Meredith who needed to make a visa run from Panama so she met up with us. We headed up to Honduras where she flew in and we made our way over to the Caribbean coast to catch a ferry to the Island Utila. I dont know if my description will give the reality of this island any justice but I will do my best.
Utila is a divers mecca of deep sea and sandy beaches. We walk of the ferry and are instantly bombarded by foreigners working in the dive shops trying to suck you in with their special deals and prices. We soon sidestepped the masses and found through the two cluttered streets that make up the only city on the island a cheap little place to stay filled with many other exuberant travelers. Though the accomodations were cheap the food was not and neither was the beer. The streets are filled with little spanish and mostly english though I cant really tell you that the english that is spoken by the locals is the english that I grew up speaking. I met many people that I could understand but everyonce in a while the three of us ladies were stopped in our tracks by someones conversation where the only way we knew it was english was by the random swear words that were shot out.
We found ourselves fitting right in and soon made friends with some fellow oregonians that worked at the nearby dive shop. Of course we won them over with our Meagan, Meredith and Mary charm and soon found the boat that would take Mary out for her dives and Meredith and I could tag along for some great snorkeling, lunch and all you can drink beers under the sun on their private beach. Not too shabby. Mere and I saw many beautiful fish and a spotted eagle ray. I also saw some 4 ft long fish whose name I cant remember but I know it started with a T. The biggest excitement was when we found ourselves floating over a feeding whale shark. We suited up quickly to get in the water but by the time we were about to jump in the beautiful creature had decided it wasnt our time and shooted off into the water.
Another day on the island we went exploring by land and hiked the highest peak (a tiny hill) called Pumpkin hill and saw the incredible greeness of the island that extended far beyond the compact bussling town of East Harbour. On the way back we skipped over the main road and found ourselves exploring beyond the main road. The smell soon overhwelmed us as we saw the marsh land below the high stilted houses covered in plastic trash that continued to compile. It was a disturbing sight considering how clean the front roads are. We were told that because the sidewalk going back into that section is so narrow they have no garbage pick up system and the residents have seemed to ignore it and continue to add to the waste. We were simply reminded that nothing is as it seems and it is importants to not take things at first glance for things can always change your perspective.
So I will leave you here. For date references we left Matagalpa on March 10th and I left Utila on the 18th. I am sorry that I have not posted anything about El Salvador or my time in San Jose too much however I have just not found the internet time I wanted and the world around keeps adding new elements and surprises. I hope for all of you who read this you are enjoying your own adventure.
posted by Megatron @ 10:49 AM
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