Volunteering by the beach and in the bush.

---

Arrived in Chinandega, a short hour trip west of Leon, and arrived in a town full of conflicting aspects when compared with Leon. The town has many colonial influences in the styles of very old Churches, but has very little of the commercialization associated with other tourist towns…one of those factors, tourists, are virtually nonexistent.

I had to take a taxi to my next destination. Arriving in the local bus terminal, surrounded by outdoor markets and the everyday hustle and bustle that one can last remember from time spent in Xela, Guatemala. The cost of the taxi for a European was very reasonable. 15 US dollars for a forty minute journey, and there is no shortage of taxi drivers wanting to take the odd looking, tall white fella, burdened with a heavy backpack and guitar, and in their opinion mountains of dollars stowed away in ones pocket.

This did lead to a slightly hairy moment. The taxi driver not fully knowing where the final destination was, required a map, and without informing me proceeded to his house to collect the required map, (it turned out the map was useless). At this moment it did seem as if I was about to be mugged, so whilst waiting in the car, managing to lock the back doors, and having one eye on the fire extinguisher located on the dash board, and the other eyes constantly scanning the rear view mirror, side mirror and the blind spots, and constantly hypnotizing all the possible consequences, all this energy being wasted with the driver coming back to the car full of smiles, and then later remarking that I had nothing to worry about.

40 minutes into the journey we arrived in a place, just outside of manizillo, with a dirt track leading of the main road to my final destination. Due to heavy rains caused by the rainy season, the taxi was unable to continue and it was left to walk the remaining couple of miles. The roads are like farms, muddy and difficult to use, whilst carrying heavy bags and reminded me somewhat of the west country lanes, back home.

The organization (who I’d rather not name on here, but please contact me if you’d like it) is a nonprofit eco-tourism outfit in the early stages of its development. The site consisted of 4-5 acres of land, consisting of several cabanas, a volleyball court and a bar/restaurant. It is located 100 yards of the beach and is well kept secret amongst those who spend their days surfing and their nights drinking, reading or sleeping. It is an Oasis of tranquility so far removed from the rest of the world that neither cell coverage nor internet is available.

The early stages of tourism were dedicated to the backpacker cliental, but this is slowly changing as the financial returns do not reflect the effort of the organization, due partially to its remoteness and partially through lack of effective marketing, (During my time before and after there, I never once saw a flier or such in any hostel, be it in Nicaragua or other Central American countries).

The food is more than reasonable for those with vacation dollars, but way over priced for those of us who are on a budget for traveling or volunteering. There are no prices displayed for food or drink I guessed that breakfast is 3 dollars, lunch 5 and dinner between 5 and 7. Add that up on a volunteer’s budget, and it turned out to be the most expensive voluntary projects to date. Unlike most hostels there is no possibility to prepare your own meals. The nearest supermarket is an hour ride on the back of a truck, (and what a ride, big highlight of my time there, just hanging on).

I understand that many people will see this a very reasonable price, yet for me, when considering the cost of living in Nicaragua, and what you can get for you money there, it was an expensive process.

Having seen the unattractiveness of this venture, the organization, is redesigning its package with the aim of enticing those in North America, to vacation at the resort, with all inclusive packages. Let’s hope that this all works out for the resort, as the guys running it and the local communities deserve success in the near future.

The volunteer and environmental side of the organization is somewhat inspiring. The local communities do live in what would be described in the west as disadvantaged, but to be more than fair, there were days and days of smiles and happy faces, and the pace of life, although hard and somewhat tranquil, would make all those people I’ve met in the “west”, gasp, at working a 12 hour day, in the fields or elsewhere, with the hot beating sun, breathing down ones neck. All this for 100 cord, (Not sure but 5 bucks) a day, 6 days a week, every god damn week of the year.

The project is heavily involved in providing sanitation, via composting toilets to stop the spread of disease, especially in the rainy season, when the contamination is more prevalent, to providing donated clothing and establishing bins for rubbish around the local community, as well as employing a dozen or so local people at around twice the national wage.
Teaching within the local elementary school was somewhat similar to the teaching in Guatemala, but it lacked so many materials, and the poor teacher had to teach three different grades, all at once. I managed to put together the foundations of a curriculum for the after school English program, for the kids, and am planning to add to it throughout the coming year, as I continue to work / volunteer down to Argentina.

I left the beach, content and relieved that I was leaving. Although it was a beautiful place, and a great memory to have, I did feel disappointed that, had there been a better set up from a voluntary view, I could have gained far more life experience and sustainable development knowledge to take with me, to add to future projects along the way.

I hope that this project is an outstanding success. I think it will be in the future, once they get true vacationers down there, who have the expendable cash, yet saying this, with money does come standards, so many things will have to change from that point of view, and with that, I’m afraid that the uniqueness of this particular project will fade away, with rich, North Americans, searching for the best and most undisturbed waves.

All in all a few good memories to take away with me, and I’ll sure be missing the ocean waves just pounding of the beach every night before I lay my head down to sleep.

---