Hi everyone, I am staying with a family again here in SJDS. There are many women in this large family and they speak fast, loud and often. So, unfortunately I don't get a lot of what they are saying. The food is great, though, and I have a large room and a private bath. For these hot, but deluxe accommodation I pay $80 for the week! And I will probably gain 5 pounds living there. I only have to walk about 5 blocks to the library and 5 blocks to the internet cafe. Also, I met a nice girl who teaches yoga 5 mornings each week and if I don't have to go out on the mobile library bus at 8 am I can take classes with her. The yoga is very basic and slow, but ... read more

Hi everyone, I had a really long day of travel and the most difficult thing about wasn't the time traveling but the extremes. I started out in Tampa and went to Miami. In the airports and on the planes it is very cold and I wore two shirts and a fleece. Once I arrive at the airport in Managua, Nicaragua then I needed to shed layers. I got a taxi to the bus station and started my trip south to the city of Rivas and then changed buses and headed southwest to San Juan del Sur (or SJDS). The buses and the stations are extremely hot. I sweated so much even though I had pants that rolled up. I didn't take the most direct bus because if I had I would have arrived after dark. My ... read more

Hi! Today I will pack up half of my stuff and head out to the nature preserve called the Miraflor. This area is a cloud forest which is supposed to be like Monteverde, Costa Rica was 40 years ago. Living there is primative, I am told. I have all my warm gear and my head lamp, bug repellant, walking shoes, toilet paper, etc. I will stay with a family for 2 nights and I hope to see some coffee picking and processing. Here are some pictures from around Esteli. They are getting ready for the carnival and horse parade that attracts horses and cowboys from all over Central America. I got to witness the Mis Gallina Competicion (the Miss Chicken Contest) and hopefully my photos will load. I hope to have time to write one last ... read more

Hi everyone, I am glad some of you are getting my blogs. Apparently for about a week I was unaware that I made my blog private and emails were not going out to my "subscribers". Now, I think I have gotten my act together and you should receive emails as I complete my blog entries them. This morning I said good-bye to my family and left the village of San Juan de la Concepcion, which happens to be down the road from La Concepion. The spanish classes were great, but were 4 hours every day. Then there were field trips and other activities every day and there was no time to assimilate what I had learned. And we were all exhausted after the trips to pineapple farms, wine tasting, beach trips, etc. Also, living with the ... read more

Hello everyone, We went to an orphanage this morning, but my camera´s batteries died, so I have no photos. Several of us were able to convince our teachers that we would practice spanish on the way and have conversations. We bought stuff at the grocery store so that we could give the kids some snacks and visited those kids that had no relations to stay with over the holidays. Afterwards we came back and had our conversation class. Then we had lunch at the Mariposa. In the afternoon we had a wonderful time touring a pineapple farm. I did replace my batteries and now have some pictures to upload. It was great to understand the way that they farm and see a farmer who plants sustainably and organically. The Masaya volcano is close by and the ... read more