Standing on the edge...

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Perhaps some of you are wondering what a 63 year old woman with bad knees is doing roaming around 5 countries in Central America. Having a darn good time for one thing, learning Spanish for another, and to be really honest, escaping another fun New England winter.

For the last 4 years I have gone to wonderful countries and cities to learn Spanish ( Oaxaca, Mexico; Seville, Spain; Cuenca, Ecucador and this year to Costa Rica). I have enough certificates that say I have completed ' Curso1' to paper a closet. Finally, I am happy to say, I am in 'Curso 2' and pretty proficient with the present and past tenses of those damn Spanish verbs.

Today I met my private guide Edgar, a green eyed, movie star handsome young man. Today was his lucky day because I told him he could talk in Spanish. First stop was the Masaya Volcano National Park. It last erupted in April 2001, and is still smokin'. Picture the crater that 'Thelma and Louise' flew over in their convertible and you have some idea of the view. The indigenes believed that fire gods lived there and threw in women and small children to appease it. The Spaniards believed it was the "boca del infierno"- mouth of fire- and held exorcisms. Today you get a little slip of paper warning you that it could erupt at any time and that if that should happen that you should hide under your car. Sort of a updated version of the old "duck and cover".

Later, we toured several markets in Masaya, a town noted for its artists. It is so hard to pass up such beautiful hand carved wooden items but there is just no room in my suitcase for a thing.

In Peru one time I met a well traveled fellow named Charlie. As we talked he told me that the way he evaluates a country is how it treats its children and its dogs. Today on a road that was more potholes than pavement, where kids stood by the side of the road with shovels and would fill in the holes with sand( for a price), where bulls and cows roamed all over the road untethered, I saw a lovely thing. There was a man in a wheelchair rolling along the side of the road. A cowboy pulled up along side him and threw him a rope and started to gently pull him along. No words were exchanged. It was a sweet act of kindness. When I commented about it to Edgar, he told me that the Nicaraguan people are very kind and will always help you out. Good for me to know.
Tomorrow a cruise on Lake Nicaragua...as my grandson Mateusz says "the fun never stops!"

And if I don't get a chance to write before Feb. 11, a Happy 5th birthday to my other grandson, Callum. May you have a great party where you will reign as King of the Knights and Damsels.
Love, Carolyn / Nana

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