Blogs from Somoto, Northern Highlands, Nicaragua, Central America Caribbean

We had a busy week traversing the north central part of Nicaragua to meet with several women entrepreneurs. We started in the Somoto region and visited a village called Unile. The only way to get to this village is a 40 minute dirt bike ride. Fortunately we did not have rain until after we arrived back to the office. Below I am sharing a little bit about each woman I met with to learn about her business, challenges, and dreams for her future. Deysi: Is a single mother with 5 grown children. Her sons' wives have helped her start a bakery to service the community. Previously Somoto, a 40 min motorbike ride, was the closest place to buy baked goods. She said one of her biggest challenges is finding firewood, especially in the rainy season. Once ... read more

21/02/15 Somoto Canyon / Esteli Gisterenavond werd dit natuurgebied, Canyon Somoto plots aangehaald door Wilmar en de Franse Agnes. Ik had er nog niet van gehoord maar Andie had deze reeds bezocht en bleek een aanrader en niet heel ver vanaf. Sandie had het nummer van de baas van ' Somoto Tours 'en hij regelde voor mij deze " Last Minute ". Hij had een groep van 5 man om de tour te starten om 9u30. IDEAAL! Vlug naar de busterminal! Er bleken twee Belgische studenten uit Antwerpen in de groep te zitten. Het was een prachtige 6 uur durende tocht, een mix van wandelen, zwemmen, wat klimmen, springen van rotsen van 4, 6 en 8 meter en een kleine boottocht als afsluiter. De 18 meter hoge sprong was te hoog gegrepen voor mij maar de ... read more

Nicaragua Information Central Hotel Colonial in Somoto number is 8999.9266. The clerk Ariel speaks English. Hotel Panamericano in Somoto 2722.2355. There are not pay phones here. If necessary you need to ask to borrow somone´s cell phone to call or there are fono centers and places to call from cybers. (see spanish guide below) The USD to Nican Cordoba exchange rate is 21.20 or thereabouts. US dollars are accepted. For money, I would also bring your ATM card. Travellers checks are rare. Better with cash and ATM cards. People who exchange money on the street are legit and it is okay to change money with them. Just ask ¨Cual es su rato?¨ and he will have a calculator to show you the exchange rate. In Managua you have to take taxis, not busses. I am checking ... read more

I pulled out my journal the other day. It's a beatiful leather journal that I bought in Beijing solely for the purpose of joining the Peace Corps and recording my thoughts. I used to write in it about every day, up until like last February or something, and then I'd only write sporadically or not at all, only using it to update what had happened in the last months. So I pulled it out to update what has happened since my last update, which was the beginning of September of last year. So my 27th birthday, buying my stove and cooking, electricity going out and people using barbed wire to steal electricity, and Lenin's and my trip home to Missourah for Christmas 2009 and New Year 2010. Then I went back and read about when Lenin ... read more

Photos of the fair in San Lucas and the hipico, or horse parade... of mamita´s porch, and of a visit to el espino.... read more