Bugs in Nicaragua

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

It is a rainy day today, perfect for sorting photos, catching up on blog posts, and cleaning up from a bug invasion.

It rained most of the night and today, every time I think about going out it starts to rain again.

It rained most of the night and today, every time I think about going out it starts to rain again.

You know me and bugs 😀  I haven’t been specifically looking for them or working in the yard but still, since we are in this tropical place it is no surprise that we have seen a few.

The most interesting experience of the last few days was the invasion of the chayules.  I had heard about these bugs that occasionally show up in large numbers and make a mess of everything. They are harmless though and don’t bite or fly in your face, so they are more of an inconvenience than anything else. It is challenging to cook though, and don’t leave your food or drink uncovered.

The bugs love lights!
They decorated the top of the microwave
They like the walls too
There were impressive piles of dead bugs on the terrace floor

The invasion was short lived though, some on Saturday, clouds of them on Sunday, less on Monday and then it was pretty much over. But, it wasn’t the only things we have seen. Besides a number of black witch moths which are so big I think they’d are bats, I have seen a few other interests critters.

But, among the bugs there was this gorgeous moth on the wall
This fairly large moth was on the living room wall
I found this little guy when I was cleaning the computer desk area.
Joel found this large spider when he was sweeping the floor.
Joel said he swept the spider out the door into the yard where it was instantly grabbed by one of the chickens.

We have also had some other great days here so there will be a few more posts coming. Don’t worry, no more bugs, but a lot of great scenery.

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Sunday in Altagracia

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

We had taken the bus through Altagracia and thought it looked interesting. And, since it is the other biggest town on the island we thought we would go check it out. There are buses that go there about every hour so we walked to town and hopped on one.

In the bus again
The road heading into Altagracia is really pretty
Beans drying by the side of the road
Coming in to town
Cute pig in the road
There is a fiesta coming up so I wonder if the colorful poles are related to that.

The drive was pretty, as was the entrance into town. It was Sunday though so most places were closed and the town was pretty quiet. We decided to walk around a bit though and see what the town was like.

Walking around town, one of the side roads
Another road in town
Interesting building
Lets all pile on the truck!
This building had a bit of everything making up the walls
The city park with interesting pillars at the corner.
There were some vendors and activities in the park but nothing like we had seen when we went through on the bus during the week
We were told that the town was relatively quiet because a lot of people were at the baseball game

We had also heard that the water was nearby so we headed out to look for the beach. A couple locals said it wasn’t far, and it was a bit farther than I would describe as “not far” on foot but it was an interesting walk.

We decide to walk to the beach which we were told was not far, just around the bend.
This guy passed us hauling a cart full of plants
The man was spreading the cuttings on an especially rough patch of road to make it easier to drive over.
We made it to the beach!
Its really pretty, and the lake is so big on this side that you cant see any land in the distance.
This interesting bit of rock was sticking up in the water. It was too far to see exactly what it was until I captured it with my zoom
There was a woman washing clothes on the beach. She was joined later by a couple other women who had been swimming in their clothes, jeans and shirts!
As we walked back to town the volcano loomed over the houses

We stopped for a really nice lunch and then made our way back to the park to catch a bus home, just in time to see a bus leaving town on the other side of the park. So, we asked around and learned at on Sunday there are no more buses, not until mañana. We set out walking knowing it would be a really long walk back, but hopefully some other option would present itself besides the $30 we were told it would costs for a taxi.

We walked along and had one of the most interesting experiences of the day. We passed this house with a yard full of beautiful flowers, and the lady was outside so I told her that I thought her flowers were beautiful. She was so happy that we liked her flowers that she invited us to come sit in the shade with her and her husband in front of the house. Conversation led us to her family and children, and she invited me inside the house to see the photos of her children! I have been very curious to see inside a typical Nicaraguan house.

The blue house is where we stopped. The yellow house belongs to their daughter.
The inside of the house

I wish I was more comfortable and confident putting my camera in people’s faces and private spaces so even though she told me it was OK, I only snapped one quick picture and it isn’t as clear as it could be. Even so, you can see that the house has a dirt floor, brick walls, and a metal roof supported by wood beams. There was minimal furniture, only a small table and a few chairs, all but one that had been taken outside for us. There was a small shelf on the wall with some mementos and a few hair ornaments, and pictures on the wall of family along with some other decorations. The back wall is only a partial wall and I imagine the bedrooms are behind it. There was a storage area at the end of the room and I could see a couple bicycles there. I didn’t see any running water, bathroom, or cooking area inside the house.

She told me that she was born here and lived here all her life. They had eight children and a number of grandchildren but only a few of the children had pictures on the walls. She told me that most of them had gone to Costa Rica for work. One daughter had earned enough to come back and build the house that was next door. I tried to get a sense of what they did for a living but all I could determine is that he can’t work because of some problem in his back and neck that leaves his arms too weak and painful to work.

People are like that in this part of the world. You say a few kind words and you are invited into their homes and lives. We have had so many people here be so friendly and kind, and a surprising number have told us that we should buy some land and come live here. Anyway, I digress and these ideas will be addressed in future posts.

Meanwhile we had to get ourselves back to the house. We walked on for about 45 minutes until we reached the next town. A lady by the side of the road told us that a “busito” would be along soon. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before a van came by, told us he would take us to Moyogalpa for $4, so we hopped in very glad that we weren’t walking all the rest of those miles.

Returning home, another Ometepe traffic jam.
When we pass this playground next to the school, we know we are almost back at the house.

Another successful day and we made it home! I am glad we saw the Altagracia area. I heard it was another area to consider but we prefer the Moyogalpa area. There is a bit more going on in the town, the ferries are here if you want to leave the island, and it is on the west side where you can see the great sunsets every evening.

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Ometepe Island, Nicaragua, another Saturday

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Saturday was a quieter day. We relaxed at home, went into town for a few things, and took the kayak out on the lake.

We woke up to flat tires on Joel’s bike, again *sigh*. We had already taken the bike in three times for flat tires and a broken brake and they exchanged it for another. I think we are just getting the same unrepaired bikes over and over, and it is inconvenient to have to pump up tires every morning and run back into town. So, we decided to turn the bike back in and try another establishment. Harinton Willy is also on the Main Street and was happy to fix Joel up with a nice bike, so hopefully we won’t have any more problems.

Another beautiful moth on the wall this morning
The volcano at the airport as we head into town
Harinton Willy of Willy’s tours, a good man to know if you need a bike, a tour, or just some pleasant conversation.

(FYI Willy’s Tours, willy’stour@yahoo.com cell 86418031)

After doing what we needed to do in town we thought it would be a good day to take out the kayak. It was a bit overcast but calm, and very pleasant on the water. I am always surprised at how warm the water is.  It must be in the mid eighties.

We take the kayak out on the lake, and enjoy the view of the volcano
Look closely and you can see both volcanos. The second one is on the right peeking out among the tree tops.
We paddled past these guys in the water and when we got closer, we could see they were working with a fishing net
They were slowly pulling the net back into the boat, occasionally stopping to pull out a fish and toss it in the boat.
We could see a bit of rain in the distance
As we paddled back the volcano was developing a cloud hat

Of course since we are on the west side of the island, chances are we are going to have a beautiful sunset! I took the dog for a walk but still managed to see quite a bit of it as we made the rounds of the neighborhood.

After the kayak I took the dog for a walk, but I managed to get a peek at the sunset between the trees.
Sunset over the lake on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Endurance

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Kris Cunningham

Weekly Photo Challenge: Endurance. Show us what endurance means to you. Is it that high-school diploma, beads of sweat earned on a long run, a treasured family heirloom, or something else entirely?

There are many things that come to mind with the word “endurance”, especially here in Nicaragua where I see how people work hard every day just for the basics of life. But, I also thought of something more personal, an experience watching my son in law compete in a triathlon. I admire his persistence and endurance in training. I was also inspired by the other competitors, many of whom were older than me and/or didn’t look like what comes to mind when you think of an athlete. There is no upward age limit on staying active, healthy, and in shape to the best of your ability, or on setting goals for yourself and working towards them.

Drew comes in looking great

Drew comes in to the finish line looking great

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu
Chinese philosopher (604 BC – 531 BC)

It is one thing to take the first step, and it is another to have the endurance to persist through the whole journey. I think for most of us, that is the most challenging.

 

 

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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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