Allison
creative spirit*artist*friend*crafter *quilter*painter*cook*baker*whirl wind mess maker*vintage stuff collector*listener*animal lover*joker*reader*knitter*broadway song singer*dreamer*activist*traveler*forgiverArtsyAllie
Travel Blog Posts
June 17th 2007
We departed the guest house around 8:00 Sunday morning. When we arrived at the airport we were able to do some final shopping. Surprisingly, I found the selection at the airport to be better than anything I had previously seen. I purchased some pottery and several small folk-art paintings.... read more
June 16th 2007
On the day before our departure we had the option to either spend the day at the beach near Leon or hike a volcano and meet the group later at the beach. The majority of the group chose to go to the volcano - Cerro Negro. It was about 1.5 - 2 hour drive from the guest house. Riding in the back of the truck on the highway is no picnic, but it sure beats riding in the back of the truck on unpaved roads surrounded by trees with low-hanging limbs. For me, this was the real adventure - the constant ducking to avoid being smacked in the head with a limb and the never-ending shaking off of exotic bugs - spiders, beetles, ants, etc. We were like a group of monkeys - picking & ... read more
June 15th 2007
Teen Time Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua By ArtsyAllie June 15th 2007 Before going to Nicaragua we knew that we would have the option of working with a group of teenaged girls in Villa Catalina. Rosanna, a native Nicaraguan who lived in the US for 6 years (and speaks impecable English) is the adult leader of this group. She tries to instill in the girls that they have other options besides getting married and having babies. We collected tons of nail polish and other "fun" girly stuff in the US for the girls...lotions, lip gloss, compact mirrors, funky jewelry, glitter gloss, hair accessories, etc. This was actually the bag that was lost at the airport. Fortunately, we were able to retrieve it befor... read more
June 14th 2007
Arts & Crafts at Villa Catalina Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua By ArtsyAllie June 14th 2007 The crafts I planned for this trip included beaded jewelry and glitter art (surprise, surprise!). We also made plans to work with one specific group of teen-aged girls doing fabric painting. There were at least 200+ children at this village. The ones who attended school did so until noon when they were fed a meal. The meal is their incentive to go to school. We had the fortune of being able to work in the library - an enclosed space with tables and chairs. This really helped us to excercise crowd control with the children. The building was hot, but at the 3:00 each day the power came on and we were able t... read more
June 14th 2007
Villa Catalina consists of a community whose homes were destroyed by a mudslide during Hurricane Mitch. After the mudslide they re-located to a dump...literally a landfill. Villa Catalina has 116 homes (3 different styles) each with running water, a shower and latrine - these are the real luxuries. The houses were given out using a lottery system in exchange for a certain number of hours of community service (same idea as Habitat for Humanity). The deeds to the homes are in the WOMAN'S name because she is considered head of the household. The houses may not be sold, but can be passed down to the next generation. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died during our walking tour of the village. So, I do not have as many photos as I would like... On our walking tour ... read more
June 13th 2007
Free Day Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua By ArtsyAllie June 13th 2007 Wednesday was a "free day." We visited an orphanage for severely handicapped children and went shopping in Chinandega. The orphanage is run by nuns and services people from childhood to adulthood. According to Nance (who is a nurse), the children receive excellent care. She brought to our attention that the orphanage and the children were very clean. Later, we visited the "farm" that was recently purchased by Amigos. They have started a program similar to Heifer International's. Their goal is to raise animals for the purpose of microenterprise. They will teach the people how to care for and how to make money with the animals. T... read more
June 12th 2007
The Beach Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua By ArtsyAllie June 12th 2007Our "guest house" in El Capulin was about a 10 - 15 minute walk from the beach. These are pictures taken from the road and at the beach.... read more
June 11th 2007
Hard Labor Photos Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua By ArtsyAllie June 11th 2007 These photos of the goup digging trenches was shared by John Cantwell. This is what he had to say about them: "These photos were taken at El Capulin. Temps in the mid 90s and high humidity. The sun was brutal but the soil was some of the finest I'd ever dug with a shovel. In 2 days we hand dug with shovels 1368 feet of water line at a depth of 2 ft. After a day or so of digging we all found a method of digging or chopping roots that worked for us individually. As each person fell into his or her own work rhythm, we all pulled together as a group and completed what we set out to do. As John Bland pointed ... read more
June 11th 2007
Because this was only the second group trip to El Capulin, we didn't really know what to expect as far as what craft supplies to bring. At a couple of our group meetings in the states it was mentioned that the children liked sharpened pencils. I made a mental note of this with plans to bring a bunch. Two days before we departed, as I was sharpening the pencils, I started thinking, "What are the children going to write on??" So, I got the idea to make little booklets of computer paper stapled together with a piece of card stock for the cover. I then stamped the fronts of each of the booklets with either a fish or a butterfly design. Who would have guessed how cherished these little "cuadernos" would be?!? The children made ... read more
June 11th 2007
The fishing village - El Capulin Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua By ArtsyAllie June 11th 2007On Monday, we packed up in preparation for a couple of nights at the fishing village. We boarded the bus for the 3 hour drive on rough roads. The road we traveled was under construction and there were many times when it didn't feel as though the bus would make it...lots of deep dips causing the bus to bottom out several times. Saul, the driver, made sure to distract us with risque music videos on the TV screen. The purpose of the trip to El Capulin was to dig ditches to lay water pipes to bring water from the well into the village.... read more
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