Nacatamales!

Posted on September 20, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

A family in the neighborhood makes nacatamales every Friday and they are wonderful!

A nacatamale is a traditional dish of Nicaragua and Honduras. This family makes two kinds, one with masa (corn) and pork, the other with rice and chicken. Like tamales in other countries (which are a bit different),  they are a lot of work. They are often made for holiday gatherings and many family members participate in the preparation.

I thought it would be great if I could learn to make these nacatamales so I asked if I could come and help, and they graciously agreed. So, Friday morning I showed up at the house. Julia and her daughter Amarelis had already done some of the work. Bundles of plantain leaves had been boiled to soften them, and they were preparing the masa.

The house of the nacatamales!
Boiled bundle of plantain leaves
The masa and other ingredients ready to go

I am not exactly sure about the corn and masa part. It was explained that the corn is cooked with “cal”, and from my research I understand that the corn is cooked with lye or wood ash which is very alkaline and changes the properties of the corn.  Then it must be boiled again with clean water. One can also buy corn flour that has already been treated in this way and which is recommended for nacatamales by many recipes found on line.

When I arrived they were mixing the dough, adding Maggi flavored bullion powder, oil, vinegar flavored with onions, and milk until it was the flavor and consistency they wanted, a bit firmer than mashed potatoes. They also had all the ingredients ready – sliced onions, tomatoes, green peppers, potatoes, pieces of pork soaking in flavored vinegar, rice soaking in water, and springs of herba buena or mint.

Ingredients prepared
Assembly area getting organized
Assembling the first nacatamale

Now it was time to assemble the nacatamales. First, plantain leaves are selected. Then a large scoop of masa is put on the leaf (smooth side up), followed by a piece of meat, a bit of onion, pepper, tomato, potato, a bit of the soaked rice, a sprig of mint, and a bit of the juice from the meat. Then the whole thing is wrapped up in the leaves and tied with strips of “bark” from the plantain trees like a nice little package. One must be careful to have no sharp bones sticking up to make a hole in the leaves, and don’t tear the leaves while you are putting the nacatamales together.

Wapping it up in the leaves
The first one is ready to tie
Handed off to Amarelis for tying. This team had obviously worked together a lot.
Amarelis ready with the ties
Yeah, first one finished!

After showing me how it was done a couple times, it was my turn and I wrapped the rest of the nacatamales.

Now it is my turn. Selecting leaves and not tearing them was the hardest part for me
Adding veggies
I had a great little assistant, Amarelis’ adorable little boy. (Photo by Amarelis)
Yeah, i made one! (Photo by Amarelis)

After a while we had a pretty good pile of nacatamales ready to cook. This is very low season for tourists so sales are down, so they were only  making the masa and pork nacatamales today. But still, they estimated we had made about 50 of them.

As far as I can tell there are no cooking facilities in the house. All cooking is done outdoors over a wood fire. It is more work but there is nothing like the flavor of food cooked over wood. It didn’t take Julia any time at all though to get a fire going.

Julia gets the fire going
The backyard and outside cooking area
The other fire for the ones that don’t fit in the outside pot
They will be boiling here for 3-4 hours

When we were done, nothing went to waste. Leaf scraps were fed to the pigs and ducks, and the leftover rice to the chickens. Everything else was put away for another day.

The pigs ran away when i cam near but the ducks were happy to have some leaves
Pigs in mud! They had a couple cute ones but they didn’t know me so ran away if I came close
The pigs’ house

I think this must have been something new for all of us! Amarelis took photos of the gringa cooking traditional Nicaraguan food to post on facebook (and I now have a new Facebook friend), and as you can see, I also took a number of photos of my new experience.  Not only do I know a lot more about nacatamales, we had a wonderful morning of conversation and getting to know each other which I enjoyed every bit as much as the cooking.

 

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A Day at Home

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

After all of our running around we figured a quiet day at home would be nice. As you can see, a quiet day around here is very chill.

I think I’ll sleep in the basket
Why do they laugh at me?
Now I think I’ll sleep on the ledge
I sleep on top of the fridge all day
I am sleeping on this couch at the moment. That white box is next to it though because I was bad and started eating the underside of the couch. Now they won’t let me get to it any more.
We took the dog out for his afternoon walk and saw these guys in the water. It looked like they had nets and were fishing.
Today’s photo of the volcano.
I want to play with it! I’m scared. No I don’t. Yes I do. I want to play with it! Yikes, it moved!
Joel says he will play with it. It’s the cutest little piglet and is constantly oinking.
Ocho puts in an appearance late in the day to refuel.
The sun gets low and the distant mountains turn blue
Another sunset!
Another beautiful sight over the water
And another day begins! Everyone is in the kitchen at once which is unusual, especially for Ocho. (Look closely and you’ll see the third cat heading out the window)

There are more adventures planned so don’t worry, we won’t be watching the cats sleep every day.

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The Other Side of Ometepe

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Ometepe Island, Nicaragua, is shaped like a figure eight around two volcanos. We are on the west side of the northwest volcano and have seen a bit of this part of the island. I have heard about interesting places in the isthmus and around the southeast volcano so I wanted to see these areas too.

There are buses that go to Altagracia (northeast of the volcano near us) every hour but only a few of them go on to other destinations. We caught the morning bus that goes to Balgue which is on the north side of the other volcano, and we took the bikes along so we could do some exploring when we got there. A nice strong guy just picked them up, went up the ladder at the back of the bus and tossed them on the roof!

1 3/4 hours and 80 cordobas later (about $3.20, 20 per person and 20 per bike) we arrived at Balgue.

Our bus! I am glad we got on in town because it wasn’t long before it was standing room only. All sorts of things were on the roof too – rebar, guttering, large sack of things, and there were bags of cement in the back of the bus. The emergency exit in the back is used as just another convenient door.
I thought this man in Altagracia had a very interesting face.
We passed this funny scene of a little shop, a baby, and a couple pigs.
It was interesting to see a new side of the volcano.
Some of the rice drying in the sun.

We rode to the next town and by now it was getting to be lunch time, so we looked for a place to eat. We had seen many tarps with what looked like rice drying so we stopped to ask a lady. She told us that it is indeed rice, and there also is a place to eat just a couple doors away. It was one of those places in the trees and shrubs that looks like someone’s patio, that you wouldn’t even notice if you didn’t know about it. And I am sure it was a much more interesting lunch than any tourist hangout.

The shop that is part of the restaurant. The photo is of a couple family members. There are many extended family here and the lady we first met told us about them and many others who weren’t present. But, by the time she was finished telling me about dozens of people I was a bit lost. The lady in the photo is her mother though. The photo on the right is someone who went to Finland and married a gal there, which explains the blond hair.
A really nice guy, I think a son of the owner came in with his kids and talked to us quite a bit, making it very clear that he was happy to have us here, we were very welcome, and he was going to feed us a very good lunch. The kids were snaking on watermelon and having a great time, though the little ones needed to be hosed off later.
A tame baby deer! They had three that they apparently have as pets. I was told that deer live in these parts but I am not sure how they came to have these babies.
I didn’t think about the camera until I had eaten half the lunch but you can see it was good – Gallo pinto, tomato salad, fried plantains which were a bit like French fries, and fried chicken in a crispy, slightly sweet sauce. They guy with the baby explained that they steam the chicken, and when it is cooked they fry it in a little oil until it is crispy, and the add the sauce.
We asked about this guy who passed in the street and were told he is crazy. He walks all day, sleeps in a ditch at night, hasn’t bathed in 20-30 years, and wears multiple pairs of pants at the same time. He always carries large sacks but they don’t know what it is in them.
This darling little girl wanted to play ball. She could throw but had no idea about catching so it was fun to show her and clap when she caught one. I walked through this area on the way to the bathroom, and it looks like the family living area. Notice the interesting sculpture near the girl in the black shirt, and the pro Che Guevara things on the green wall.
Another family member talks to another patron while a couple other kids wander around. This baby loves bikes and I was afraid he would pull them down on himself.

Lunch finished, we got on our bikes and were on our way, headed down along the isthmus between the volcanos.

Santa Domingo beaches, with the Maderas Volcano in the background.
Looking the other direction on the beach you see the Concepcion Volcano. What a beautiful area!
Clouds start to gather at the top of the volcano while swallows fly around.
This is quite a tourist area and there are many hotels, hostels, and restaurants along the way.
Just a pretty view
There were some huge trees!

Many people had mentioned Ojo de Agua (eye of water), a spring fed pool in the jungle that is very beautiful, so this was our next destination. It definitely was everything it is said to be! Sometimes I just have to pinch myself to believe the beautiful and exotic places I find myself in.

The beautiful pathway to Ojo de Agua
The water was cool, turquoise blue, and very clear. There was a $3 per person fee to get in, but there is a restaurant, bathrooms, changing rooms, and tables and chairs around the pool.
The other end of the pool was deserted and so beautiful.
Many people were enjoying themselves in the water.

Now cooler, relaxed, and refreshed we set out again. After a good amount of uphill climbing we found ourselves in what I believe was El Quino, which is on the main bus route from Altagracia to Moyogalpa, our home base. We had some pretty spectacular views along the way!

Beautiful clouds at the top of the volcano
How cool is this?!
We saw this crazy sight on the road that looked like a moving banana tree! A neighborhood kid who visited this morning explained that they were probably picking leaves for tamales.
These cliffs remind one of the volcanic origin of the island.

Lucky for us, about the time we decided it would be s good time for a bus to come along, here came a bus!

Back on the bus
This time the bikes were put inside the back door
I couldn’t figure out what these little tepees of plants were about. The kid this morning said something about oil? Soybeans for oil? Something like that?
The guys with the ice cream cart wanted to take the bus, so they just loaded the cart into the bus. They even made a couple sales in the process.

Then, all we needed to do was to pick up a few things for dinner, make our way home, walk the dog, shower, and flop on the couch after a great day!

Back at the airport, the volcano was wearing a hat and we were playing with shadows
Another sunset, another great day.
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Tuesday and Punta Jesus Maria

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Our time continues on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua. We can see the Punta Jesus Maria from the beach in front of the house so it is close, and we heard it was a great place to visit so this was on the agenda for today.

First though, the day begins at the house.

Our resident hard working and busy rooster.
One of the trees has starting blooming and making a purple carpet on the ground.
There was another black witch moth on the rafters this morning
Another addition to my “pigs in mud” collection. This one was in the street leading out of the neighborhood.
These signs are all over. This is an island. If the volcano blows I doubt there is anywhere safe on the island!

Our destination was close so we set off on the bicycles. There was a sign on the road directing us where to turn off, and we found ourselves on a beautiful canopied side road leading to the point.

The road to the point was so beautiful
There were so many interesting trees along the way
Some of the trees had trunks that were very white.
There were also a number of these dangerous looking trees.
There were also a couple little snack bars at the point

We reached the point in the afternoon when the sun was starting to get lower in the sky, and it was absolutely beautiful! Everyone who told us that this was a place that we must visit was certainly right.

The view of the volcano was fantastic
The water in the sunlight was also beautiful
At the end of the point you can see both volcanos.
The clouds over the volcano are constantly changing
This boat may look old and battered but it had been out on the lake, and guys had been using it to fish with nets.
Joel looks for interesting things in the sand.
The sky is as beautiful as the water
A couple fishermen come in as the ferry passed behind them
What a view, and the clouds look like they are coming out of the volcano
The guys pulled the boat across the point and parked it on the beach next to this huge fallen tree
There were quite a few people enjoying the water
I’m not sure if this is a raft or what, but the boys were having fun
The sky got more interesting as time passed.
This guy brought his fish to the water to clean and wash them

As we headed home we passed my favorite view of the volcano from the airport.

image

Last, but certainly not least, we had another beautiful sunset over the lake right in front of the house. Life is indeed quite nice on Ometepe Island!

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What Did We Do on Monday?

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

The days here on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua are flying by. We are trying to take advantage of our time and experience as much of the area as we can. Today we decided to try a bus trip. Tours are hard to come by because it is off season, and a driver quoted us $70 for a day. We knew that bus couldn’t be near that much! So, we headed to town.

You need to get your mattresses home, so what do you do? Put them in a motor taxi, of course!
La Princessa takes a break from grazing and eats some of the tree
Today’s volcano photo
Washing clothes can be a social event.
These farmers have taken their cows for some beach time
This one didn’t want to come back in
We met these two guys as we walked to town. They saw me taking pictures and wanted me to take one of them.
Someone was cooking behind the old abandoned building. I don’t know what it was but it was bubbling away and smelling good.

We made it to town and got the bus schedule from the bike shop, learned nothing was going to our intended destination for a while so we decided to go towards the ferry dock where Robinson, our taxi driver contact was waiting for some potential customers. Down there at the bus stop was a bus about to leave for San Marcos, a town on the north side of the island that we wanted to visit also so we hopped on.

We are on the bus!
We arrived in San Marcos to discover the holiday festivities were going on! It was kind of like a parade that didn’t move.
These girls danced and did their thing with lots of energy for a very long time out in the hot sun.
A girl nearby was doing the washing outdoors. Apparently they cook with wood indoors and the smoke goes out the openings in the block, judging by the color.
I have heard about pigs and mud but didn’t realize they truly enjoy it very much.
I almost need a photo album called “pigs in mud”
The bus just waited here for an hour until it was time for the return trip, which was perfect for us, just enough time to enjoy the festivities and walk around town a bit.
A guy gets off the bus and heads home
Traffic jam! The bus had to make its way though a large group of cattle in the road.

We had biked almost this far earlier but I was glad to go all the way to San Marcos. The road isn’t paved so it is a bit of a bumpy ride, but it was a chance to see a more untouched area. There are probably very few gringos who visit there because we got many curious looks, but everyone we greeted was pleasant and greeted us back.

This is only a small part of what this island has to offer, so we have more excursions coming up!

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Sunday scenes in Nicaragua

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

This is the time Nicaragua celebrates winning its independence from Spain in the early 1800’s. Today we could hear the sound of drums coming from town. The neighbor said there would be music and dancing starting at noon, so we decided to head into town to see what was going on.

Today’s photo of the volcano
Joel spotted this interesting squirrel. It moved so fast it was almost impossible to catch with the camera but at least I got one, even if it isn’t a sharp one.
As we walked to town we saw this other beautiful scene with clouds at the base as well as the top of the volcano.

Unfortunately the drums we heard earlier were the festivities and we were told that things ended, not started at noon. No matter, there was plenty to enjoy.

The city park, complete with a pig roaming around.
The park is pretty and colorful
The park, looking down towards the Main Street of town
The church by the park
A pretty side street near the church and the park
Cute house
You could buy this house!
Walking down the main road around the island as it goes through Moyogalpa.

We walked around town a bit, and then decided to take the beach path back to the house. It’s funny. I have to stop myself from writing “back home”.  This house has quickly felt like home even though it is temporary and we have quickly felt comfortable in this town. Anyway, as usual, the walk home provided some nice photos.

Heading home, passing the boats at the ferry dock
Cute little boy playing in a boat on the beach
Egret on a post
A beach front house. It may not be fancy but it has a heck of a location!
Horses roaming free and playing on the beach
A couple of them decided to roll in the water
Just a pretty scene. As we passed the horses came back to the beach and then followed us along the beach path.
Cormorants roosting and swimming
Another pretty water bird
I think this spotted piglet is so cute
Today the calf is grazing in the yard. When we returned he was napping, but still let Joel give him a few pats and scratches on the head.
There are quite a few of these old but picturesque boats on the beach.

The life of a rooster is not easy. As I have been sitting on the front terrace putting this post together, he has been scratching in the dirt looking for food, poking his head through the front gate to see what is going on in here, supervising the hens who are out with him, occasionally (without success today) trying to get lucky, keeping a watchful eye on the neighborhood, and taking off at high speed to run off any other rooster who gets too close. He keeps pretty busy.

Anyway, that was Sunday. I am always a day or two, or three behind but my first priority is exploring and enjoying what this area has to offer! It is fun sharing what I enjoy here with all of you though 🙂

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Humanity

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Weekly Photo Challenge: Humanity.  The more I see the world, the more I realize that although people are different, we’re very much the same. We speak different languages, have different cultures, religions, values, and physical traits, yet we all share common hopes and dreams of love, family, and survival. When I travel, I’m inspired to take photographs that capture humanity — of everyday people around the world — and provoke compassion and an understanding of our differences. My favorite photos capture the emotions of others and spark a curiosity about their lives. For me, these images reflect humanity and create connections between us.

I am currently in Nicaragua in a place much different than the USA, and also quite different from western Panama where I have been for the last two years. But, as much as it is different it is also the same. People go about their lives doing the things that people do everywhere. Maybe the methods are different but the goals are similar – to survive, to care for their loved ones, and to enjoy life along the way.

The Nicaraguan neighbor leads her cow Princessa to our yard to graze. This cow provides important milk and calves for her family.
This beekeeper is on a long walk to town, to the ferry, and to the city of Rivas where he hopes to sell his honey.
These children playing in front of their house become shy when I talk to them, like many children everywhere.
These girls play and dance on the sidewalk while they follow their mother on her errands.
Enjoying a friendly stroll in town on a nice afternoon. Here affection between family and friends is just a bit more visible than in some other places.
A working guy struggles to push his cart up hill so he can sell his juice and snacks to the midday street traffic.
Some youngsters enjoy a bit of fun on the lake.
Others all pile in a truck to go somewhere together on a Sunday afternoon.
A guy keeps watch on the street traffic outside the door to his business.
A mom teaches her little girl to ride a bicycle.
People at a washing platform in the lake doing the laundry. This is quite different from what I am used to but still, anyone who wears clothes has to wash them somehow.
Boys are fishing with a net in the lake. They were having fun but I imagine the catch will be appreciated by the family at the dinner table.

When you move to a different country with a different culture, language, climate, and traditions you expect that your life will be quite different. A bigger surprise though is how much it is the same. We are all just people. There is far too much US vs THEM these days. Maybe if we can know THEM as people there will be more peace and cooperation in the world.

 

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Saturday, and Biking North

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Ometepe Island is fairly large, almost 20 miles long and 6 miles across. Since we like what we have seen a lot, we want to explore more of the island.  The island is oriented sort of northwest to southeast and we are in the west part. Thursday we went southeast, so Saturday we decided to go northeast in the other direction along the coast. You can’t go across because there is a big volcano in the center of this part, and another in the southeast part so the island is sort of a figure eight shape.

Image from Wikipedia

Image from Wikipedia

The day started,  however, with the neighbor next door asking if she could bring the cow over to graze in the yard. This is the first time I have had a request like that! Princessa is a good cow though, calm tempered and she provides a lot for her family. Right now though she is producing less milk because she is three months pregnant! (Cows are like people and take nine months, so the calf will be born in six months.)

Marina brings Princessa over on a rope, like a dog on a leash, and the cow calmly follows along.
Princessa goes to work on the yard

We left Princessa to do her work and got out the bikes.  As we head out the north side of the town of Moyogalpa I saw signs for Hospedaje Soma, a hostel that has inexpensive tours of the island. This looked like a very comfortable place and the guy at the desk was very a nice, and also spoke English. Unfortunately though this is off season for tourists and they don’t have enough people to be running tours right now. He gave us a lot of info on the buses though, so we will try that.

So, we hopped back on the bikes and set off.

I tried to take some photos of houses this time
This island is not flat! We had been climbing uphill for awhile, and when I turned around to look back I saw the lake in the distance.
This guy tried his best to sell us some honey but I didn’t want to risk breaking it. He said he was going to Rivas to sell his honey, which would involve a considerable walk to town, a ride on the ferry, and probably more walking in Rivas as well.
A new side of the volcano, the north or northwest aspect.
There were also some great clouds
We saw a lot of these plants on this trip. I am guessing they are plantains since we have seen more plantains than bananas here.
Is there ever an excursion without an amazing tree?
I never get tired of the beautiful views of the volcano
Cows on the move
Traffic jam!! The bus had to lean on the horn to get the cows to move off the road.
This house is for sale.
Another fairly typical house. I am not sure why so many have two doors because they both seem to lead to the same big room inside.
I thought this house was especially cute with the pretty of pink color and all the plants in front.
There were a number of these thatched houses. There were a couple very friendly women and a naked toddler outside but being Indoctrinated in the US, I didn’t think I should be photographing naked toddlers.
This house is next to the thatched one and unfortunately you can’t see much in this photo, but it was made out of poles and plastic sheeting.

Our return trip took us back to town and back the the bike shop for a brake that wasn’t working. (They have been very nice about switching bikes if there is a problem.)  Since we were in town, who can resist a Cornerhouse smoothie!

Bandanna, pineapple, mango smoothie for me, iced latte for him, and great toast with homemade peanut butter and preserves.

Bandanna, pineapple, mango smoothie for me, iced latte for him, and great toast with homemade peanut butter and preserves.

As we made our way back to the house we passed the airport. Usually at this point I am watching the ground since we turn off on to a dirt road. Today, however, I stopped to look at the volcano and realized that if you get in the right spot you can see both volcanos!

Both volcanos! Conception on the left and Maderas on the right.

Both volcanos! Conception on the left and Maderas on the right.

We came home to relax but it wasn’t long before the golden light of the setting sun caught our eyes. Of course I had to grab the camera! I can never resist a beautiful sunset over the water.


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Friday is for Food

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Our adventure continues house sitting on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua. It is interesting here that so many people come to the house selling things. A guy came by a few days ago selling tilapia fillets which I am glad we bought because they were great. Another guy came with little pastry/cookie things which I don’t need, so he will be happy when the folks come back. Another guy was selling plastic chairs.

Today we knew the gardener would be here and it is pay day. We also knew the vegetable truck would be coming and I had a list! If I remember I bought 4 carrots, 6 chayotes, 3 cucumbers, 6 tomatoes, 2 pounds of onions, a cantaloupe, a pineapple, 6 beets,  and a bunch of bananas. I think that was all, and it was about $12.

The veggie guy arrives with his truck. He told me he used to have a horse but now he is doing better so he could buy a trucks. He had to sell the horse to pay for it but now he can go faster and carry more.
He hasn’t really good selection
When we are done he writes every item in his little book and then totals everything up. He said he had a calculator but people would rather he did it by hand.

Once all the expected visitors had been here, I set out with Cappy for a walk. It seems to help to run off some of his energy, and sometimes he even manages to walk beside me like a good dog!

Today's photo of the volcano

Today’s photo of the volcano

Then we had a few things we wanted to do in town, so we set off on the bikes. It’s like Panama a bit. We wanted a pump to inflate a flat tire on a bike. Nope, no such thing. We had checked with a few stores and bike rental shops and heard the same thing. If you want air go to the car repair shop down the street. There are no pumps sold on the island. But, an email with the homeowners and the right advice and voila, una bomba! We also learned that there is a guy who goes to Pricesmart in Managua every Tuesday so if we want something, we only need to ask on Monday and he will bring it back.

As we did our errands in town we saw the gray clouds over the volcano getting bigger and bigger, and a cool breeze started to blow. We took off at a good clip to make it home before the rain but didn’t quite make it, much to the amusement of some of the neighbors we passed on the way home.

My I got all wet but had fun doing it look.

My I got all wet but had fun doing it look.

Yesterday we ordered nacatamales from the family up the road who makes them every Friday. Just before we left on the bike one of the boys arrived with our order in a bucket obviously hot off the stove. They were too hot to even touch! So, when we returned from the bike ride we knew we had an excellent dinner waiting for us.

She makes two kinds, one with corn base and pork, the other with rice and chicken. Both are really good!

She makes two kinds, one with corn base and pork, the other with rice and chicken. Both are really good!

Next time I see the cook outside I am going to ask her if I can help her next week. I would like to know how she makes these. They are different from the Panamanian tamales and would be a great addition to my recipes. These, besides the rice or corn, and pork or chicken, they have slices of potato, tomato, onions, a leaf I can’t identify, and really yummy flavoring.

After dinner is relaxing time with a good dog and a good book.

It is a rough life here

It is a rough life here

The final surprise of the night was something flying up under the rafters. At first I thought it was a bat but it didn’t fly like one. Then I realized it was a huge black witch moth, which I recognized because we had them occasionally in Panama.

A black witch moth.

A black witch moth.

So, another day on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua. Tomorrow we plan to do some more exploring, with the camera of course!

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Thursday – One Week

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

It’s funny. In a way you can get an idea of what a place is about in a day or two, but it can also take years to really know a place. We have seen a lot in our first week here, but I also feel like we have barely begun to know what life here is like. This is a big island with many other towns and things to see, and this island is only a part of this country.

Yesterday (Thursday) we decided to go biking to San Jose del Sur, a town on the south side of this part of the island about an hour away by bike.  The road took us through green fields and farm areas, and through some small towns. I didn’t think about our relation to the volcano and that we would be seeing another side, or the fact that we could see the other volcano as well so we had some great surprises in store.

Day care drop off – we went to town to use the internet while ours was off, and spotted this guy dropping the little girl off with the lady in the shop. How many kids get delivered by a handsome man on a white horse?!
We rode through the town of San Francisco on our way. I should have taken more photos! It felt like a real Nicaraguan town here without any tourist element, just very basic houses and locals going about their lives.
This is the main road around the island. Cows on the highway? But of course!
We spot the other volcano coming into view!
What a beautiful south side of the volcano.
We stop in San Jose del Sur to check out Las Brisas, the boat dock. The clouds were really beautiful.
The clouds look like smoke billowing from the volcano.
That is the dormant volcano in the distance, and my favorite riding partner in the foreground 😀
Interesting political stuff here, which was also seen on the streets and other places. FSLN – Sandinista National Liberation Front. Sometimes it is easy to forget in this tranquil place that they have had their share of political upheavals.
Of course I would have to photograph another amazing tree
Cute little house with a pig out front scratching it’s head on the pole.
We passed some gorgeous views of the volcano
The other volcano is also beautiful in the distance
It took me a bit to figure out that the squealing was from some pigs in this cart that apparently didn’t want to go for a ride.
Today’s airport volcano photo
As we got close to the house, we passed the mare and her baby by the side of the road.

We are really enjoying this island!  Friday we will be mostly home for various people who stop by on Fridays. Then, on Saturday, we want to bike in the other direction to see what it is like on the north side.

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