Omotepe to Granada

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Hey!

At 4 am I got up while it was pouring rain and made my way down the hill in the dark and rain to wait for 45 minutes until the bus got there. We bussed for 2 hours and then took the small launch back across Lake Nica to the mainland. I rode along with Cuto, who is the wife of the owner, Cristiano. She is Japonese. She was headed to Costa Rica to buy some supplies for making jewelry and leather handicrafts. Her daughter, Lena, will stay with the neighbors while she is gone. She was a great help in getting around Rivas mercado when we got there.

I have not written for a few days because I ate some bad food. On Thursday night I had pizza at the wood ovens and ate some mushroom pizza. Either that got to me or drinking some unfiltered water, because by midnight I had chills and fever, stomach cramps and a really bad headache. I was up all night with vomiting and diarrhea. My morning I was really icky but over the gastrointestinal stuff. All day Friday I had a migraine like headache. I had some instant coffee with lots of sugar in the afternoon and started feeling better. I only felt really weak and missed out on making homemade nutella from the roasted cacoa. I decided not to work Sat and not to travel that day either. I parked myself in the hammock and could at least relax and enjoy some reading (something I could not do with the migraine). By Sunday I was eating again but could not find internet or phones available anywhere.

I said good bye to Cristiano and he told me next time he was going to ask me to bring a bigger appliance (this time I brought him a vacuum sealer like yours, Patty and Chris -- based on your recommendations!). I don't think I will volunteer for bringing stuff like that again - kind of a pain worrying about it dropping of the back of the bus!

Today I made it to the colonial city of Granada. I plan to stay here for only a few days and to revisit with Rich later when he arrives. It is really a beautiful city to look at and photograph. The architecture is great and the streets are cleaner with less random drop offs than most of the other cities I have seen in Nica (and great for walking). I spent the afternoon walking around and ended up watching a progression of kids in their traditional costumes in the market area.

Check out my photos.

Love,
Dawn

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Photos

Pigs in the Park
This is a photo I took last week while visiting the village of Altagracia where I use the internet. Pigs run everywhere in Ometepe.

Statues in the Park
The same park that has these statues from antiquity.

OxCart
Traditional living is the norm on Ometepe.

Lena shares with Wilma
Lena shares her sucker with the puppy.

Bees
On Finca Zopilote there are hives and guests buy the honey for their oatmeal and coffee.

Cute Cuto
Cuto and her husband Cristiano and Bruno, the father in law own the Finca Zopilote where I stayed. .

Dawn
Here I am saying goodbye to Omotepe on the launch.

Iglesia Merced
I climbed the belltower to get this shot of Granada. It is the most colorful city I have seen in Central America.

Girls Dressed up
Here the girls are getting ready for their parade. After they posed for this shot they and their mother got on the motorcycle with their father and drove off.

Kids getting ready.
These kids were getting ready for the procession.

Not thrilled
Not everyone was in the spirit.

Chicken in a Bag?
I have heard of a bucket of chicken but not a plastic bag of chicken. Maybe this keeps the poop off your going to town clothes.

Comments

[Diane]

OMG
wow, I'm sorry you were so sick. Terrible to be away from home and your own bed at a time like that. we had the recital and it was really fun. we will have to do it again sometime when you can be with us. I hope you and Rich have some fun instead of working all the time ! Talk soon, thanks for the updates.Diane

[Rich]

Glad to hear you're feeling better. I had a bad experience in college with hippies and mushrooms too......... I wish we'd have thought of the plastic bag trick when we moved the ducks! I might not have had such a mess in the back of my truck. A dozen grocery bags and some zip ties, and they could ride in the front with us! Nice! Take care, love you, miss you, see you soon. -your hero

[DawnW]

Recital
I´m sorry I missed the recital. Who was there and was it a big hit? Did the husbands, etc. enjoy it? I would like to see some traditional dancing here. There is a festival this weekend, so it´s a possibility. Dawn

[terri]

great place to be livestock
Hi Dawn, Sorry to hear you were sick! Part of being a seasoned traveler I guess! You are gonna be so skinny from working and sweating and not eating!!!! The costumes , people, scenery, buildings and pictures are beautiful. It is great that you share them with us....thank you....terri

[DawnW]

Thanks for all your comments
I don´t feel so alone here when I am ill. The owner is a sweet woman who is 63 and she tells me she only wants to live to be 70. I told her that maybe she should make an appointment with her priest for her last rights. She has had some sadness in the life. Her son, who helped her initiate this business with his degree in tourism died tragically in a car accident. The Nicos live very close to the edge in no many ways. Soon I will send some pictures to show what I mean. I haven´t wanted to venture out to internet cafes where they can read my cameral card.