Visiting Ometepe

School Resources

2007-09-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

I collect spanish editions of games and flash cards for language and maths for Ometepe. So far I've found ...

Oraciones Divertidas™ (Silly Sentences) Game, Mar de Silabas™ (Sea of Syllables) Game, ¡Mézclalas!™ (Mix It Up!) Game, Scrabble Game - Edicion en Espanol, Monopoly Game - Spanish Edition, Spanish Bingo Game

This is Thelma with maths flash cards delivered recently, when Fenella Raymond visited.

Art Begins with a Blank Page

2007-04-11T20:12:00.000-07:00

no matter how you look at it, 11 days in Nicaragua are better than none though not as good as 22.

Can't wait March 28, 2007

2007-03-14T16:28:00.000-07:00

Getting ready for another trip to Ometepe! Packing baby clothes from Enriquetta, donated horse tack, edu games for the schools and Si a La Vida. And coffee roaster supplies. This is a very exciting visit because we'll be able to observe the BOSIA delegation kids (from Bainbridge High School) at work in four local communities. Our visit also includes Santa Semana and Easter Sunday. Look forward to picnics at Playa Santa Domingo, time with friends at Finca Magdalena and Altagracia. And SUNSHINE

2006 Adventure in Nicaragua

2006-03-23T23:20:00.000-08:00

Our adventure began on December 27th when twelve of us flew to Nicaragua. The primary goal was to deliver a new roaster to Finca Magdalena on Isla de Ometepe. The trip was a success beyond our wildest dreams. You can read our journal day by day in the Archives below (or use the fast links at the bottom of each post/page).

(You're also invited to visit the f/stop Cafe and the Cafe Shop where you can find gifts for coffee nuts, master gardeners, or fans of all things Nica.)

Go to the blog beginning

A Bainbridge-Balgüe Wedding

2006-02-11T23:00:00.000-08:00

The wedding of Diane Lynn Jennings and Manrrique Antonio Castillo Aleman took place today, on Bainbridge, with the Somewhat Reverend David Mitchell presiding. El Grupo de Ometepe in January were there.

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What's Ometepe really like?

2006-01-31T08:38:00.000-08:00

Ometepe in January is not the Amazon jungle with stifling heat, strength-sapping humidity and swarms of mosquitoes. Of course January isn't the rainy season. Still, traveling from Puget Sound to 11 degrees above the equator is a change and the daytime heat hit hard the first few days. The rain on the third day was refreshing rather than oppressive. And when the winds picked up there was a nice fresh breeze. And you can always sneak off to the Villa Paraiso for ice cream. Their terrace sits above the beach with a constant breeze.

Yeah, there are bugs, but they mostly eat the mosquitoes and are generally harmless. Even the big ones. I missed the tarantula, easily booted a scorpion out the door and stomped my way into the toilets yelling go away! Speaking of the toilets ... the tissue goes in the basket not the bowl. That took a little getting used to.

I didn't know or think to take an electric hot water kettle - electric is the same standard as US. A little hot water for washing (or a cuppa tea if I hadn't lost the tea bags in Granada) would have been lovely. Taking a mountain-spring cold water shower at any time of the day isn't my idea of fun. Not even in the heat. I did buy a bucket at the hardware store to fill with water to leave out in the sun. By 3pm I had the makings of a nice hot sponge bath. And I left the bucket behind as a gift to finca neighbors.

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Chino Año del Perro

2006-01-29T15:07:00.000-08:00

Manrrique surely must think we are nuts. Not only are our dogs spoiled family members, who can sit on the couch (unlike his shoes, sez Diane), but half Bainbridge turns out in the pouring rain to celebrate Chinese New Year - the Year of the Dog, of course.

Pics by David and Kris

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Winter siesta time

2006-01-28T14:51:00.000-08:00

The photos speak for themselves, need I say more... Manrrique is adjusting.. He did tell me that he thought "people" were lying when they told him that it was very cold here and that he would need a coat, sweaters, a hat and gloves etc. but now he is a believer! The poor guy has gone 2 days now without Arroz y Frijoles and Platanos; I think he may be dying from hunger.
We went to our first fiesta together last night at Salty's (a company party). He really didn't want to go. Before the food arrived he told me he was bored. I told him I was waiting for the food. Once in line he said I don't like anything here, I am not going to eat, I told you I wanted to stay home. But once I started telling him what the food was and he recognized items like spaghetti and meat, etc he ate and he then said it was good. We got stuck in Seattle due to the Coleman Dock closing because of a bomb threat. We had arrived in plently of time for the 7:20 Seattle sailing, but left Seattle at 8pm to drive around. To bad it wasn't day light so he could see the views from the Tacoma Narrows bridge as well as the new bridge and the Agatepass bridge. Oh well there will be more opportunites.

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Aqui! Manrrique arrives in Seattle

2006-01-25T20:27:00.000-08:00

Gracia

2006-01-23T19:29:00.000-08:00

Este ultimá noche. Today David M. and I went to Altagracia, a couple of erands like hardware store, and a visit and lunch at mi familia de Altagracia, Juan José y Luz Marina y todo sus familia. So good to see them one more time and a chance to eat una comida deliciosa de Luz Marina. This time seven year old Erenia, my Spanish teacher from last year's visit, was there, I really wanted to see her and missed her on my first visit a few weeks ago - I have an invite to her house the next time.

Before leaving this island I wanted to express my gratitude to BOSIA and a few people in particular - who made the roaster project possible and successful. El proyecto tostador is not a BOSIA project but I would never have even conceived of it if not for the Sister Island relationship that brought me here first a year ago. It was a real treat to be able to visit with Kim and Ela on Ometepe, these are the people who first gave life to BOSIA twenty years ago. Evidence of the work of BOSIA is everywhere on Ometepe, and when an Ometepino discovers you are from Bainbridge Island the gratitude is expressed in words and welcome.

David and Lisa M., Diane, Elizabeth, and Peter A., Manrrique, and that special baby, Robertito, were all so helpful and full of encouragement. Much thanks to Peter Kauffman, who had to stay in the rain on Bainbridge in January, he helped me gather the necessary ingredients so the roaster could come together on Ometepe. Thanks and gratitude to Ron Kyle, the guy who makes the fine crafted RKDrum, the heart of the new roaster. Ron threw in extra hardware, and made a nice hand crank for just in case. And thanks to Erick, Diane's friend in Managua, who got the Fiesta grill and the cooling fan at the Managua Pricesmart. Erick then, with uncanny timing, drove up in his jeep with grill box and fan just as we were walking out of the airport terminal in Managua the evening of Dec. 27. Gracias also for all my co-workers at ZymoGenetics in Seattle, who supported my dream for el proyecto tostador throughtout the year and made it possible for me to be gone from my job for a whole month.

La gente de Cooperativa Carlos Diaz Cajina #1 will continue to be an inspiration to me. Carmen, Aura, Cristina y todas las tostadoras; Santos (current president of the cooperativa), Felix, Francisco, Pedro, José Maria, Ever, and all the socios and workers, thanks for your openness and friendship, I look forward to more experiments at Finca Magdalena in the future. Mi grupo, Ometepe en Enero - all the roaster stuff would not have gotten to Finca Magdalena nor set up and functioning so quickly without everyone's help and gracious participation - muchas gracias al grupo incluyendo dos Igors - and of course special appreciation to mi espousa, Kris, for coming with me - so much to talk about and incredible, new shared experiences.

It's late on Ometepe and I get up at sunrise, so, buenas noches todo. I will post again from my other desk on the other island - many more photos to show, check in at fstopcafe.com in a few weeks or so.
David
(el tostador tonto)

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Domingo en Ometepe

2006-01-22T13:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Saturday, Ever, Yami and Evercito took me to see their new home under construction. You walk off the steps of the veranda, into the woods, find the big tree and turn left, go up Volcán Maderas about 200 yards. It is a magical spot, the highest situated house in the cooperative. From the front you can see the lake far down below; the side door frames Volcán Concepción.

Carmen, Yami's mother and my dear friend, and Jerry, one of the archeologists, came along too. Out back, in the "backyard" is a new fruit orchard, which means next year I will be picking naranjas y limones dulces. To the other side of the house is a new garden with nuevas plantas de piñas. I am very happy for the whole family. Somehow this family and their new home have an air of next generation about with a great sense of renewal and hope. I look forward to good times at this spot. See three generations of Ometepinos in photos - mom, daughter, and grandson.

The last photo is Santos, the current president of Cooperativa Carlos Diaz Cajina #1, a man with the kindness and generosity so typical of la gente de Ometepe. I was just having lunch with Elizabeth, Ed, and their son, Devon - Devon will be the volunteer at the BOSIA office in Altagracia for the next six months. Anyway, we are sitting and chatting and I see Santos go off, and shortly return with a handful of fresh wild ginger root. Soon, cups of hot ginger tea come to our table, Santos did not say a word to us, but the appearance of the cups of incredibly strong ginger spoke his friendship more than any words, in any language.

My stay here this time is winding down, as I said before this has been an overwhelmingly rewarding experience for me. I was walking the streets of Balgüe this morning and heard "¡Hola David!" many times, from many directions, doorways and yards. So many new friends, many of whom, embarrassingly, I do not know their names - some even whom I am sure I have not met personally. What a feeling of home and extended family. Soon, Manrrique and I will be taking one of the launchas to San Jorge, then on to Rivas, and then Managua for the flight home. I feel sadness at having to say goodbye, but unlike last year, I have a strong feeling that this is not my last time living under the twin peaks on Ometepe.

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Another Typical Roasting Day at the Finca

2006-01-20T14:26:00.000-08:00

Things don't always happen on schedule or planning on this island. The trip to Altagracia to revisit Obregón family had to be postponed. Instead it was a full roasting morning at the finca. Cristina, now one of the maestras of the roaster, roasted about 16 kilos. My dear friend Doña Lidia came to see the new roaster in action, it is big news on the paths of Balgüe. Elizabeth, Ed, Lidia's youngest, Alexander, and Emily were on the scene. Emily made some voice recordings of Cristina explaining the roasting process. All were excited to see, smell and hear the roasting. The audio I will be able to use in the El Proyecto Tostador movie project.

Cristina shows the green beans (above) that bucket was full at the start today, it holds about 13 kilos of green bean (or oro). Cristina loading the RK drum cylinder (right). More visitors are seen clutching their pound bags of fresh roasted coffee. The Igors, now back on the other island are going to put together a box of spare stuff to have brought down to the finca folk.

And there's me with Lidia - an amazing, astute, and wise woman. Lidia's kitchen is *the* place for lunch if you are fortunate to be invited.

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Diane on the Scene!

2006-01-19T21:59:00.000-08:00

Various stories about the ferry's sinking circulated the island prior to my leaving, but the one I heard that seemed to fit was that the ferry had provided a late night excursion for some plantanos trucks and as one was offloading, the platform gave way. I don't think it was so much the platform but the off balance of the ferry, due to the load of the trucks, the main cabin then started taking on water. As you can see by the photos the front end is under water up to the second level. This occurred Saturday the 14th, and as of the 17th the ferry remained underwater, local police standing guard and the crane standing by.

News Flash. The story even made the front page of today's La Prensa - see: www.laprensa.com.ni/regionales/regionales-20060119-03.html Click the link to read the story (spanish). And we've brought their photo to our blog!

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Small world

2006-01-19T20:49:00.000-08:00

Exciting morning here on Bainbridge. Diane came over to upload the dramatic! ferry shots, then I took our youngest and dumbest dog off to the vet to find out why he's wetting the bed. You'll never guess who was the vet - and I didn't make the connection until she asked if we "were the coffee people" who had just come back from Ometepe with Pat. Turns out we met at Diane's baby shower and she remembered David's name. It was Kiko Westerhout. And she offered to go to Ometepe sometime in the future if we ever put a vet delegation together - a spay/neuter clinic, and worming. She must have been reading my mind. I've been thinking about exactly that all week. And then our favorite vet tech offered to go too. This may be the start of something ....

Oh and ... yes Lenny has an UTI and is taking Baytril for a week or so.

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Pilgrims Arrive

2006-01-19T13:08:00.000-08:00

Tuesday evening I walked down to D&L's house, there was a strange vehicle on the side path near the house, Washington state plates. Elizabeth and Ed had reached their destination of the trip that began on October 1 on Bainbridge Island. One of the hardest legs was getting their VW camper onto the island, especially in light of the ferry sinking. Apparently they had to make several trips, back and forth, between Granada and Rivas. Finally they got on a freight transport from Granada to Ometepe. Many other stories of their adventure which are best if they tell them.

Last night, Wednesday, was Cine Noche Finca Magdalena - Ever was able to borrow a projector from Lenin in Altagracia, Santos got a white sheet up on the wall of the old bodega, and it was movie time. I showed Peter and Margo's film from a village in the Kaberamaido district of Uganda. The village had just completed a clean water well supported by the Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island - this is the project that Coop Carlos Diaz Cajina, Finca Magdalena, is helping to fund. There was quite a big turn out on the veranda. The Uganda movie was followed by a color cartoon, fake ad for dog bisquits featuring Lenny and Maddie (the Adler/Carroll Viszla clan, Ollie had not joined the family yet), and finally the slide show of last year's BOSIA coffee delegation, my first tip to Ometepe. Everyone had a great time and the movies were a big hit. I was not aware until this morning that one of the subjects in the slide show was present. There is a photo of a flute-maker selling his instruments in the square in Granada, with two tiny dogs. Carlos, from Guatemala, was in the audience last night but I did not see him until this morning. A nice surprise to see him again and his flutes. He has been to Japan and is now making shakuhachi style flutes in addition to the Peruvian and Guatemalan ones.

****
Thanks to Diane and Kris for the photos and news of the ferry sinking. Details have not been forthcoming here so good to have a blog to consult for the latest news. I stayed up too late last night, i.e. 11pm, and since I have been getting up with the sun everyday, about 5:45am, I think I need a hammock nap. Tomorrow, Friday, off to visit La Familia Obregón, and check in with Dorrita in the BOSIA office - probably will be gone most of the day. More to come on Saturday.
hasta pronto...

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What's in the suitcase????

2006-01-17T16:32:00.000-08:00

Soccer Boys

2006-01-17T16:10:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of those Cute Soccer Boys. They were all so polite and appreciative. Each boy personally thanked Diane and it was very touching. I hope someday we can make their dream come true.

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2006-01-17T15:45:00.000-08:00

Prior to our trip, Diane had informed us of the desire for soccer cleats and balls. Some of us asked around and were able to collect several pairs of soccer cleats and a half dozen soccer balls. Javier, a soccer coach in Balgue for 14-16 year old boys set up a time that we could meet with 3 community teams. When we arrived at the field there were about 20 boys waiting for us. Unfortunately, however, they were only the boys from Javier's team in Balgue. The 2 other communities failed to show. Javier voiced his embarrassment as he is a very energized individual wanting to help the local youth. Diane explained to the boys what was in the suitcases we had brought and though not every one would get a pair of cleats we are aware that soccer is an enjoyment of theirs and that we would do what we could to encounter more equipment. You should have seen the excitement. The boys could hardly wait for the bags to be opened. Some shoes fit and others were too small even for the smallest boys. Even the shoes that didn't fit were held close as if they might grow larger. Javiar told us the team had a dream and that was to have a brother team on Bainbridge that some day they might be able to play. We have the sizes the boys still need and will be collecting shoes that hopefully can go down with the high school delegation this spring.

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How's the Weather?

2006-01-17T14:02:00.000-08:00

(still do not have details on the ferry sinking but I think no one was hurt in the incident, although some got wet. Also David M. returned from Managua last night and saw the sunk ferry. He said both platano trucks were still on the boat in the water. Peter A. had to stay on in Granada for his tooth work.)
******
I know folks up in Pacific Northwest are still getting rained on - I will be there soon now, wonder if it will still be raining in a week and some. Here, after the torrential tropical downpour of a few nights ago, it has been "cold" in the evenings. The last two nights have been, would you believe, blanket nights - by blankets I mean something just slightly thicker than a sheet, but pretty good sleeping weather, i.e. no sweating in bed. Today, Tuesday, it's back up to 90ish.

I thought folks would like to see where I am blogging from. The first photo is my little blog outcove in Red Libre central and the second is the view from the window that is overexposed in the first photo. David M. and I were just saying what a terrible place to have to compute from :) Also on the window sill you can see a just brewed cup of the Caracól (peaberry) that I roasted three days ago. What a great cup of coffee - like want to lick the bottom of the cup when it is all gone.

*****

This morning I walked down to D&L's to see if David had returned from Managua. He was there and lots of activity, installation of a fence gate and window gratings - I forget the spanish name. Turns out Bernabé was due any minute and wanted to come up to Finca Magdalena to see the new roaster in action. We chatted for awhile and Bernabé turns up with pickup - no climb back up the hill for me and David. I roasted 2 kilos of the flatbean to show Bernabé, he was pretty impressed with the setup, the ease of the process and the big improvement for the health of the roasters. He explained that the lung problems people seem to get from wood smoke, especially the old coffee roasting method, is irreversible - David M. says it compares to a three pack a day habit.

The surprise of the day was when I got to the finca veranda, there was chain saw activity on the side wall of the main building/cocina. What's this?, I ask. "El nuevo cuarto del tostador." They are adapting a room for the roaster to be housed and coffee roasted - we have been roasting on the veranda. It's going to be perfect - two windows on the side and another window will be cut in the front wall for touristas to view the roasting and smell the beans they are then going to want to buy. I hope I can see this completed and operational before I take off. I also chatted with Bernabé about the opportunities for local economic development based on high quality roasted beans. I related the request from Di at the Iguana in San Juan del Sur to be able to serve Ometepe coffee at their restaurant, and certainly other places around the island and in the mainland parts of the Rivas district might be interested, Granada possible also. Probably enough customers to require more roasters or a larger commercial roaster. This, as other things will move slowly and probably at the pace of my expected returns, yearly or so, to Isla de Ometepe. I sure would like to see some of the coffee feeding the local economy - it somehow feels more satisfying than the export business and could even contribute to export demand as well - building the reputation of the Ometepe coffee name.

Well it's back down to D&L's and a Peter check and then hike backup in time for dinner.
buenas noches todo,
David

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Ferry Sinks!

2006-01-16T14:26:00.000-08:00

Well, it's just about all over the island, i.e. Isla de Ometepe - my story probably comes fourth hand.

News Flash: Ometepe Ferry sinks in dock at San Jorge. Late Saturday, actually 2:30am Sunday morning, one of the large Ometepe ferries was making an unscheduled late night run with two large banana trucks from Ometepe. Upon arriving at San Jorge, the first truck unloaded with its usual fanfare. When the second, very heavily loaded truck, attempted to debark (disembark, get off) the ferry tipped, or the truck tipped, and subsequently the ferry listed beyond the control point (there is a navigational word for this which I can't remember).

As far as this reporter knows the ferry is still, at least partially, under water. According to someone who spoke to someone who spoke to someone who was purported to be an eyewitness, the ferry is likely to be unsalvageable. As you can tell I really know little of what happened and the current situation. David M. and Peter A. are due back this afternoon or this evening from Managua and may bring more information. I will followup with hopefully a more accurate story.
See the photo of Ferry #1, from last year's trip (don't know if it was #1 or #2 that sank). As you can see there is vehicle space on the ferry for the two ever present banana trucks and maybe one or two additional cars. It was quite amazing that two of these trucks can actually get on the ferry - I have watched the boarding and unboarding processes, there is literally three inches of space between the trucks and between the trucks and the sides of the boat when onboard. The truck drivers, usually, do this with surprising speed and great finesse.

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Caracól Reflections

2006-01-16T09:34:00.000-08:00

Above the drying patios, in Red Libre central, I am sitting enjoying a cup of Finca Magdalena selected peaberry (caracól). I roasted this two days ago and it is even better than the sample cup yesterday. David M. and I have asked for a small lot of these beans, maybe a bag or two (66 kilos/bag) to be shipped up north and we will try to market. On day two of rest it is fabulous, a light to medium body, in the island profile - I think it easily compares to a great Kona but with more body and more complexity. It will be interesting to see what folks with more educated palates think.

Down on the veranda it is a roasting day - Cristina is teaching two new roasters about the machine and it is so rewarding for me not to have to participate - Cristina and Aura are now maestras del nuevo tostador. Tourists clutching their bags of beans to take home leave the finca everyday. Wow, such success - this is the most rewarding project I have ever worked on, seeing the pride and satisfaction in the faces of las tostadoras - and the impact on individual lives, especially health wise. I am so priveledged to receive such grace.

*****

You can meet the most interesting folk at Finca Magdalena. The journey to this place is like a filter, a chromatograpy for people - the ones that climb the stairs to the veranda seem to share some bond. Many conversations, covering many topics. Juliet, a brave, young Australian traveling alone in Central America, with an interest in the fair trade movement. A sympatico Dutch couple, Rainer and Fenneke, leaving this morning and feeling like I have know them forever. And Stepan, from the Czech Republic, learning English by ear and half way through a three year trip around the world. Stepan told us and showed photos of his travels thus far, how he ate "hopper greases" in Indonesia - it took several of us rotating the lettters around and the photos to finally realize he meant grasshoppers. It is fascinating to watch his language process - unique in my experience. He is a little crazy, just like the rest of us, with a huge, kind heart. He tells us how if we want our coffee or lunch quicker you must use "big smile". Someday he will open a guest house in the Czech countryside and we are all invited - I am ready to sample his cooking and hospitality in his home country.

*****

A couple of catch up photos, the tile floor in one of the old churches in Granada and Wes' feet in the sand, Pacific Ocean, at San Juan del Sur, on his birthday.

It's past lunch time so headed down for espagueti con carne y una pepsi. Will return later for more posting.
hasta pronto.

--> big thanks to Domenick and Andrew for checking in on the blog and commenting - it is good to hear from my friends in the North, and their odd desire for it to stop raining up there :) - I wish you were here too.

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Los caballos

2006-01-15T17:17:00.000-08:00

The pic below, from BOSIA site, shows the finca mules and horses each packing two 150 lb sacks of coffee beans, heading a mile down the road to Balgue

Thinking about collecting some thick felt pads, sturdy bosals, hoof rasps and a few other supplies to send down with a delegation. Good quality source suggestions are welcome. This composite pic is mine.

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Blog or Pay Bills?

2006-01-15T15:28:00.000-08:00

Lenny, Maddie, Ollie and I miss you David. Wish I were still there.

Top: Ometepe at dawn, from the ferry to San Jorge

Middle: view of Lago Cocibolca aka Lake Nicaragua from the bus to Altagracia

Bottom: the gardens of Finca Magdalena and view of Concepción Volcano from the balcony

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Chapter Who Knows

2006-01-12T15:35:00.000-08:00

I have been away from the blog for too long now to do all the catch up - I will try and fill in Granada days later but I am going jump to the present and very recent past right now.

Yesterday was the group's departure from Nicaragua. We were all up at 4am at Don Alfredo's in Granada and Pablo with bus arrived a little late. We still managed to get everything loaded - including Enriqueta's "body bag", i.e. giant duffel, now holding Lee's must-have wood from Ometepe (apparently this caused some issues at customs later). It was sad to say goodbye to everyone but also exciting to begin part 2. So Diana, Manrique, Robertito and I were left eating some breakfast and then walked to the bus to Rivas at around 8am. I had talked a mother and daughter traveling pair to join us to Ometepe - they have no Spanish so they were happy to tag along. We left D, M and R in Moyogolpa to deal with Manrique's papers, and Joyce, Katy and I proceeded to Finca Magdalena. Well, it was a fill day of traveling, involving, bus, small boat lauch, we missed the "big" ferry, and more bus, hitching a ride and hiking the last little stretch. Walking up the hill from Balgüe gave me a strong sense of coming home, boy do I love this place and my friends here. We climbed the steps of the finca veranda at around 5:30 pm - that's about 9 hours from Granada to the finca - traveling here is a little different and slower. I headed to the very welcome cold shower.

Also, surprise, surprise, Peter A. had arrived the evening before, way ahead of David M.'s timetable - so good to see Peter again here and I am sure we will have some long chats and activities together. Had dinner with Peter, David and Lisa, good for my group separation blues and missing Kris.

And, it was really good to see the posts below from some of the returnees, i.e. the culture shocked.

Back to el proyecto de tostador - today, Thursday, was another roasting afternoon - Cristina did 13 kilos in about 4 hours, and the bags of coffee beans are being picked almost as fast as they can be filled. A young woman from Britain, near Scotland, had a plastic shopping bag with 8 bags she was taking home for gifts.

Also at dinner last night was a table of anthopologists doing field work on the Ometepe petroglyphs - they will be here till about the time I depart. Hope to get some stories out of them and curent information, thinking, science on the rock carvings.

Well, it's about 6pm up in "Red Libre" central and it's starting to get a little buggy so I will stop here and post more tomorrow with images that I have to work on a little first.
Buenas nochas todo.

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Back to "reality"

2006-01-12T12:11:00.000-08:00

Culture Shock indeed.... "Back to the real world" we all said - I heard someone on the trip say at one point that we were in the real world, that "home" was somehow less real. I can understand that, and if you can't, you might need to go to Ometepe.
So, the trip was again an amazing experience of life, friendship, family, love, work, and nature. I had lots more group dynamic issues this time around, but they (and the cold I caught the last few days of the trip) didn't tarnish the overall experience. I got to see and do some different things this time (horseback riding, bull riding, canopy tour, Dona Lydia's), as well as visit and see some of the same places and people (petroglyphs, Dona Carmen and Santos, the monkeys and gardens). I can't wait to go again!
I'm spending the day inside (and alone), avoiding what's "out there": weather, work, life and everything else. I'm listening to latin music to ease the transition. Tomorrow I have to go to work!
David, I can't wait to see more pictures and hear how things go these next two weeks! Best of luck!
Maybe I'll post a couple pictures, if i can...

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Culture Shock Blues

2006-01-12T08:06:00.000-08:00

The dogs were beside themselves with joy when I got home. My mom and Aunt Carol were in the middle of a cut throat cribbage game. The one thing I looked forward to MOST was a hot bath - BUT - I forgot to turn on the hot water. This morning I can't find anything, especially my shoes.

Emailed to Diane and David Wed night:

We made it home, wish we were still there

It is really cold and rainy. caught the 7:20 ferry and all the commuters looked miserable, grumpy and envious. Travel went smoothly. Houston is very organized, took no time at all to get through customs, though a few bags were rousted - Lee and his damn wood

Apparently the ride to Managua airport was quite exciting but I slept through the part where we played chicken with oncoming truck while passing another bus.

Lenny Vizsla was hysterical when he saw me. He looks so FAT and beautiful.

Jonathan met Celina at the airport and Ron met Genevieve and Kristi. The rest of us found a limo just hanging around. A few of us scrounged up enough money to pay and refused to play banker to settle the differences. Lee and Ilsa got stuck with the Bainbridge cab bill. What a scam that is! They try to make you pay at each stop thus collecting the fare several times over.

That's all for now, I'm about to crash. Send news updates when you have time.

reply email from Diane
Subject: RE: assorted rambling
Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 07:47:51 -0800

Hi Kris, I came back to the island yeasterday with David and Manrrique, he went on to Balgue to pick up those papers I have been waiting for , back to managua today. David went on to BALGUE IN A DIFFERENT BUS THAN MANRRIQUE Because the bus was at the dock for Merida, I told him to take it to the corner where the road splits to go to Balgue, and then hitch a ride... hope he made it. Manrrique didnt leave til half hour later becasue he didn't know he would have to go to Balgue to get the papers til we went to the place where we stayed and they werent there. chat with you soon. love Diane and Roberto

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Getting up at 4am

2006-01-11T17:37:00.000-08:00

Ok, yes, it's true I threatened everyone - that they MUST be ready to leave the Posada at 4:30am; at 4:33 I might still let them on the bus but at 4:35, forget it. And they were ALL on time, though the bus to take us to Managua was a half hour late. But everyone was too dazed to complain. Heard I slept through the near miss bus crash (something about passing a bus into on-comming semi?), but I did manage to pay our driver per instructed by Diane. We all made it to the right gate, bought a few last minute items in the gift shops and boarded at 6:30 am for Houston. I figured my job was done.

OK, yes, Enriquetta and I should have waited at baggage for everyone else to make it through customs. But we two smokers wanted a fix so we grabbed our checked luggage and took off. Sorry, sorry, sorry you all stressed about missing the large orange body bag (though not us I assume). Of course we all met up at the right gate once again and made it home to Seattle. Which was not that much of a thrill considering the weather we met upon arrival.

Sorry again, to all the Bainbridge ferry commuters who had to look at our tans and happy faces on the way home. You all need to go to Nicaragua next January; you looked so grumpy and miserable, poor dears.

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Volcán Mombacho

2006-01-10T13:24:00.000-08:00

Zipline Canopy Tour Mombacho

2006-01-10T08:32:00.000-08:00

Celina's shots, including Diane and Manrrique on the zip lines. Mombotur's Canopy Tour is reputed to be the most spectacular one offered out of Granada.

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Dona Elba cigar factory Granada

2006-01-09T10:33:00.000-08:00

Celina and amigo. David, Wes, Arnold and amigos.

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Granada: oldest colonial city in the Americas

2006-01-09T09:07:00.000-08:00

Garden Boutiques on the way to Laguna de Apoyo

2006-01-08T16:46:00.000-08:00

Lovely stores beckoned me, but I could not take some of these lovely plants home with me.
At least I got the pictures

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Laguna de Apoyo Mirador

2006-01-08T13:30:00.000-08:00

Feliz Compleanos Wes

2006-01-08T10:08:00.000-08:00

Sunday Jan 8th is Wes's Birthday!

The festivities begin at breakfast in San Juan del Sur on the Pacific Ocean. Manrrique shows Robertito the waves.

Then on to lunch at the craft markets in Masaya, The “City of Flowers” and the capital of Nicaraguan folk culture. Here the band plays Feliz Compleanos for Wes!

To celebrate, the mujeres wear their new outfits to dinner at Mediterraneo on Calle El Caimito.

Our hostess presents Wes with his birthday cake complete with umbrella

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Farmers Market in Altagracia

2006-01-07T13:27:00.000-08:00

On the road again

2006-01-07T08:36:00.000-08:00

Ernesto says hasta luego to his friend Wes as we leave the finca Sat. Jan 7th

Today, Saturday, we leave the finca to go to Moyoguelpa, then catch a 6am Sunday ferry to Rivas, bus to San Juan del Sur on the Pacific coast, back to Don Alfredo´s hostel in Granda in the evening. We´ll spend Sun. through Tues in Granada, the oldest city in the Americas. Most of us fly home on Wed. Diane, Manrrique y Robertito and David Adler return to Ometepe for another two weeks. David and Lisa Mitchel are down here through January as well. Our group, especially Adler, will continue to blog over the next several weeks. We have wonderful stories, pictures and experiences to share. Stay tuned ...

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Las tres caballeras

2006-01-06T13:56:00.000-08:00

A morning trip to visit Dona Lidia's house and family. Some of us walked. Some took the bus. Elisa, Celina and I rode. It was great fun. These horses have manners under saddle but they bite, kick - however they all stood still when I sponged their backs after the saddles were removed at the end of the ride.

The weather today was mild, breezy and just plain perfect for a ride. I can't imagine coming home to Bainbridge winter. BTW Dona Lidia is an amazing hostess. Lunch was to die for.

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Robertito has a large fan club!

2006-01-06T13:53:00.000-08:00

Who needs toys when there are so many friends to visit!?!

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Karla and the Literacy Program

2006-01-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

Photos by Ilse and Celina: Karla and the children in the literacy program visit el groupo at the finca and put the supplies to good use immediately.

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Sunset at San Ramon

2006-01-05T17:00:00.000-08:00

Photos by Kris and Ilse - lunch at Estación Biológica de Ometepe

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San Ramon Waterfall

2006-01-05T16:21:00.000-08:00

Celine's photos - Elisa, Diane, Manrrique and Kristi make the three kilometer climb starting from the Biological Field Station. The rest of us were intimidated by reports of rock slides from the August earthquake. Looks like we missed a spectacular adventure.

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Merida-San Ramon Flat Tire

2006-01-05T08:28:00.000-08:00

Celina's photos of our flat tire. Either this nice family with the only house around puts out nails so they have some occasional company or this road really is the worst on the island. I vote worst, even it it doesn't look bad just here. In fact it's a beautiful spot for a casa.

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Ometepe Laundry Merida

2006-01-05T07:30:00.000-08:00

Wes mentioned there didn't seem to be any washing machines in the stores. I said, here they were called women. Have to say, in this hot weather, I would be willing to volunteer to do laundry any day!

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Altagracia Wednesday

2006-01-04T17:52:00.001-08:00

Today our group visited Altagracia, delivered the Heartstream portable defibrilator to the medical clinic, stopped in at the BOSIA office and paid a visit a la familia Obregón, my homestay family from last year. Milagro was on the front porch and when she saw me she smiled and went running in the house, and then ten of the family Obregón appear with great hugs, finally Luz Marina appeared with tears in her eyes and we had a really good hug. I love this family, Danny, Karla, Francis, Aron, Erenia and the rest of the clan, and of course Don Juan José Obregón y Doña Luz Marina.

We spoke with the director of the clinic at Altagracia, showed her the defibrillator and demonstrated how it works – basically a rerun of what Chuck Little, who generously facilitated the donation of the machine, showed us when he presented it to us. The director felt that the best location for the machine was at the hospital in Rivas – Ometepe is part of the Rivas District. The clinic in Altagracia does not have ventilators whereas the Rivas hospital is equipped to handle post resuscitation. The director asked us if she could deliver the Heartstream device to the hospital and of course we told that would be most appropriate. So, we thank Heartstream-Philips along with thanks from the staff at the Altagracia clinic and Rivas Hospital. A side note, the Altagracia clinic is new and was a joint project between the Nicaraguan and Japanese governments.

Photo of the delivery of the Heartstream-Philips defribilator to the new clinic in Altagracia - ¡Muchas Gracias Heartstream! As I think I mentioned earlier the defibrilator will go to the hospital in Rivas where it can serve the community best.

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Sí a la Vida Pulseras de Amistad

2006-01-04T13:44:00.000-08:00

El groupo visited the Casa José María campus a short walk from Altagracia and purchased many of these incredibly complex and beautiful designed wristbands (pulseras).

From Sí a la Vida web site:

We urgently need outlets to sell the hand-woven Friendship Bracelets (Pulseras de Amistad) that the boys create. All revenues from the Pulseras go to the boys themselves. They are paid a small amount for each bracelet when they deliver it. This is their only source of pocket money and their first experience at earning spending money instead of begging or stealing.

The Pulseras collected are then sold by friends of Sí a la Vida outside of Nicaragua. We sell the pulseras for the boys through church youth groups, school classes, craft stores - everywhere we can. All of the income from these sales goes into a fund for the boys, who periodically decide by vote on spending these funds for some special need or project of their own.

The pulseras are a continuous activity for the kids, and a visitor to the Sí Vida Centers in Managua and Ometepe will see them with the strands of thread draped around their necks and their fingers flying as a new pulsera takes shape. The boys are incredibly imaginative and skilled at devising new designs and color combinations. The sizes and shapes differ as well. No two pulseras are alike. They are all beautiful.

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Telma's gift to Enriqueta

2006-01-03T13:12:00.000-08:00

Baskets!

2006-01-03T13:00:00.000-08:00

Celina thinks we need smaller baskets for the trip home and Ilse takes a lesson from Balque's master basketeer.

We all anticipate our custom made baskets, large or small, from éste nieto y su abuelo

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Nica makeover

2006-01-03T12:17:00.000-08:00

Celina watches while Elisa has an extreme makeover. As always the Pacific Northwest women looked more REI than Vogue.

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Las tostadoras take over

2006-01-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

Today el groupo took off to visit Hotel Villa Paraiso. It is a hotel on the isthmus owned and run by an Austrian couple that is quite different from other accomdations. It sits on a high bank of the lake and has hot showers; no we did not indulge. We were there for lunch, ice cream and to look around. Lunch was fabulous; the coffee left something to be desired. I asked about where the beans came from and found out they were green beans from Finca Magdalena which they roasted themselves using the ceramic bowl traditional method. I told them about the new roaster at the finca, Sonia was quite interested - the conversations will continue.

On our return the bus dropped us off in Balgüe, at the bottom of the road up to the finca. When I got almost to the top, I encountered Doña Carmen, smiling she told me that they had been roasting coffee all day, they balanced the roast to get something in between the light and dark roasts of Monday, she said it was wonderful. A few steps later and I could smell the pungent/sweet smell of good coffee roasting. My excitement built as I approached the veranda, climbed the steps, and there was a crowd gathered around the roaster. Roasting was still going on and lots more smiles and excitement. Las Tostadoras had roasted on their own all day and were all ready nailing the roasts to what looked like a fine Full City- roast, i.e. before the beginning of second crack. Tourists were asking lots of questions, and wanting to buy bags of beans. José Maria was watching from the side and seemed very proud of the product of the day. Las Tostadoras were beaming with their accomplishment. They seemed now at home with the new roaster and I think some sense of liberation from the old method with its smoke and endurance demanding effort.

I was pleased beyond any of my expectations at the rate of their progress with the new machine. I hoped that the new roaster would become welcomed but was quite surprised that it took only one or two days for them to get completely into this new technique. And, the roasted beans looked wonderful. In a mere 48 hours the quality of the cocina coffee changed dramatically. I watched folks going up to the counter and ordering "café grande" - a big cup - I had never seen that before here and didn't even know that you could order a grande, it's now become the order of choice. I think they are going to need to roast a lot more coffee. Figuring out the roast scheduling and the quantities, etc. Also I had the idea that US$.30 was too cheap for the cups and suggested a price rise to US$.50 per cup, also raising the 1lb bag of beans price for tourists to take away with them, should go from US$3.50 to US$5. per pound. On Thursday is the meeting of the Coop's Coffee Commission, and I have been invited, another great honor, and I am sure the discussions will go on for several hours, including the pricing issues.

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Roasting in the Rain

2006-01-02T22:00:00.000-08:00

B I N G O

2006-01-02T20:34:00.000-08:00

In the evening, Enriquetta teaches some guest kids spanish/english word Bingo on the veranda of the finca

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Intro to Permaculture

2006-01-02T17:54:00.000-08:00

Wes, Enriquetta, Lee, Ilse and Kris trek follow the blue yarn from the finca to Mike Judd's Permaculture Project to learn about "resources to diversify crop options that have higher market value, resistence to inclement weather, and reforesting abused landscapes"

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Finca Botancia

2006-01-01T16:15:00.000-08:00

Anyone Reading? Please leave comments; we'd love to hear from home.

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Finally, a word from Celina...

2006-01-01T15:53:00.000-08:00

Hola amigos!
So as to not disappoint those of you out there waiting with bated breath for word from me, I blog. It's hard to know what to say, as the other posts capture our experiences so well. Being here is different the second time around, but just as wonderful, and I am making a conscious effort to make new friends and try new things. (I wish I could say my Spanish has considerably improved). I've been to the festival (there's a 3 day festival going on just down from the finca) a couple of times now: drank lots of Victoria beer and sang 80's tunes, danced one dance with a random Ometepino, saw the craziness that was the rodeo, and walked 45 minutes down the road only to take a van back to where I began (not all in one night, thankfully).
This place is so beautiful and the people are so wonderful! But now I'm being bitten by ants, so I will go.... Time for some pinto gallo y huevos!
Hasta pronto!

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El Proyecto Tostador: chapter 4

2006-01-01T14:39:00.000-08:00

This was the day we started roasting for Finca Magdalena’s needs, i.e. coffee brewing for serving cups at the cocina and sale of 1 lb bags of coffee to the tourists. The plan was to roast 5 batches of 4 lbs each. Since on Sundays the cocina crew changes (1 week on, 1 week off) there were a couple of roasters (tostadoras) who did not see the roaster or the process on Saturday, I did the first batch so all could see and then Oura, Cristina, Carmen, each took turns doing subsequent roasts. They actually roasted 13 kilos in 7 batches. Seven batches were quite dark, like full city ++ - partly due to the novice speed of getting the drum out and beans in the cooler. The last 3 batches they aimed for much lighter roasts - they came out before the end of 1st crack, so City- to me, or cinnamon. We talked about combining all the roasts but then after discussion decided to "grab" two visitors from England, prepare a cup of each and do blind tasting. Many took sips out of the cups and the majority preferred the darker roasts. But, José Maria liked the lighter. So, he and I talked some more and he said his opinion is not important; the opinion of the clientele is what matters.

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El Proyecto Tostador: chapter 3

2006-01-01T12:28:00.000-08:00

Hoy es el dia de Año Nuevo. Yesterday, New Years Eve, was the day of the new roaster. We actually got everything set up and gathered las tostadoras y otro socios de Coop to do the first roasts together. I spoke some in Spanish to the group and introduced the machine. All were excited but I could see skepticism in the eyes of some and anxiety in the eyes of others, and some pure fascination.

It was most timely - Cristina, one of the roasters, was working on two batches in the ceramic bowl over wood fire as we were getting things ready. I was repeatedly checking on Cristina's progress - the photo of her roasting should tell you the real reason behind this whole project. She was working on 4 kilos of beans and expected the roasting of them to take 1.5 hours.

That is 1.5 hours of constant stirring over the wood fire with lots of wood smoke, she wipes the tears from her eyes and sweat from her face every few minutes, not to mention the endurance necessary to stir and stand, oh, by the way, it's hot too. I noticed she had another 2 kilos waiting to do after the first batch was finished - to me, admittedly a weakling from the north, but this looks a little bit like bondage labor, and for anyone it is really unhealthy breathing. The quality of the roast is secondary to the health issue.

There was lots of help with getting things done. The "Igors", as Lee and Wes have been referred to, did great work - you can can see them making the hole for the thermometer. Henrietta (Enriqueta) has been invaluable, and gracious - since every time I get stuck with my Spanish, I yell, "Enriqueta", and she is at my side, ayudar con mi lingua debíl. Genevieve, Kris, Kristi, ever ready with cameras.
Celina and Ilse keeping me stable, clam and in touch. Pat and Elisa watching over Robertito, aka "Beto" today. Diane our mom superior, who knows all and pays attention to all details - we would not be here if not for Diane.

So, all the equipment was inspected carefully - Ron Kyle's RKDrum is a center of attraction - construction admired. With Doña Carmen at my side we start the process of the first burn in roast. We are using some beans from last year, sort of parchment coffee - they are pretty soft and seem to have a high moisture content, but what we have today - I am a little concerned about the second roast, the first roast we will actually sample (cup). I have never roasted parchment before so I don't know how they will react in the roaster.

David Mitchell (who arrived yesterday from Bainbridge with Lisa, they are in fact Socios, coop members, and have a house next to the the finca, sits with the others and translates my intro where I don't have the Spanish, i.e. most of the intro.
The "OveGlove" gets a demo and is quite a focus of interest.

Well the burn-in roast goes quite a bit faster than I like, about 9.5 min to the end of second crack - I could have gone a little further for the burn-in since we want to get the beans very oily to season the drum. For the first "real" roast I backed off on the preheat temp and the roasting temps - this grill is better than mine up North and seems to put out more heat - I don't think it is just the 90 degree ambient temperature, more btus.

I am so pleased with how things went. Doña Carmen could not wait for any bean rest and she made a pot of of coffee for all to taste. It was good, not great but considering we have many kinks to work out it was fabulous and, I think, erased much of the skepticism. Monday we plan to roast five batches of 2 kilos each - after all this is a functioning cocina and the guests want their coffee.

Below is Everito, Yami's and Ever's new baby - the real reason all of us are working, la futura, los niños!

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From Kristi and Genevieve

2006-01-01T11:06:00.000-08:00

Kristi and Genevieve blog:

Feliz ano Nuevo from Ometepe, We are amazed at what we see everyday. It is beautiful and wild. The bugs are extra large and a bit creepy, but really cool. The people are welcoming and gracious. Transportation is by bus, Burro, walking, or hitchhiking with the locals. We had a great ride in the back of a pickup with 8-10 local builders. Pat got to ride in the front seat. There is a photgraph on every corner. It's a lot like going to camp in the Jungle. We go to sleep to the sounds of howler monkeys and wake up to flocks of noisy parrots. We are getting our fill of rice and beans and refresco, (a local drink made of fruit juice). Standing at the top of the finca we look out at the Lake Nicarauga and the Volcano Concepion. It takes your breath away.

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How many Bob's are there?

2005-12-31T16:30:00.000-08:00

There were many Bob's that greeted us throughout our stay in Nicaragua.
The grandest, was Bob the rhinoceros Beetle. He can fly too. It was hilarious when he flew and landed on a tourist's head, scaring her half to death while she was ordering her food. Heh heh.

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a little catching up

2005-12-31T15:54:00.000-08:00

Top: Our Arrival
Middle: El Toro along the path of the petrogliph tour.
Bottom: Ancient Petrogliph

The time has passed quickly, its already new years eve. I am typing from the office, the wireless internet is not working so I have to quickly recap because of time restrictions. We had a wonderful lunch of rice, beans, cheese, plantains and salad yesterday at doña Lidias house. It was fabulous, then we waited for the bulls to pass by their drive, as there was corrida de toros in Balgue--una fiesta-- for three days. today we went on a petrogliph tour which is here next to the finca.

There was also much coffee roasting, and kris and david will certainly fill that chapter. It was tremendously exciting. I will try to post pictures soon, well, when the computer connection is better. Mostly, we are relaxing, and enjoying the hot weather. The monkeys, the birds, everything is wonderful!

also having fun speaking spanish, and seeing the families i met three years ago
Elisa

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Barbed Wire

2005-12-31T12:01:00.000-08:00

It's always fun until someone loses an eye.

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Jays - they're everywhere

2005-12-30T15:32:00.000-08:00

Photo by David: Here's a white throated magpie jay. We also saw Nicaraguan grackles, plenty of turkey buzzards, green parrots, white egrets, green herons, one hawk, swallows and tropical kingbirds. See more birds of Nicaragua here

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Altagracia Adventure

2005-12-30T13:46:00.000-08:00

Henrietta, Lee, Wes and I took the bus to Altagracia to buy parts to connect the new roaster to the old propane tank. H has very good spanish but no one knew what the part was called. The hardware store said they couldn't help us. We headed to the BOSIA office to find Dorrita to see if she knew what we needed. Miracle! there was a tank with the valve needed in the office. valvulos por tank de gas did the trick so we took D to lunch and she put us on the right bus back to Balgue. In Balque Telma found us a ride back to the Finca. The so-called road is astonishingly bad. At least this is the dry season because I can't imagine a worse ride. (Until a few days later on the way to Merida!)

Lee and Wes aka Les aka The Igors hang out at the tienda in Altagracia after lunch.

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El Proyecto Tostador: chapter 2

2005-12-30T10:35:00.000-08:00

Milagro de milagros - todas las cosas para el tostador estan en Finca Magdalena.

We arrived at the finca Wed. afternoon and managed to get all the pieces here - the loading on to the ferry was quite exciting and dramatic. Locals said that the traffic on the ferry the last week or so, probably related to holidays has been a little crowded :). A magic moment was seeing the guys jumping off the ferry as we started to leave the dock at Rivas - they were in the midst of negotiating a few more Cordoba from Diane when the realized we were moving. They had to jump onto a boat next door in a real hurry in the last few seconds before they would have to go all the way to Ometepe. Needless to say the negotiation ended abruptly with Diane chuckling.

We had arranged for one of the island buses to do a "charter" directly from Moyogalpa ferry dock to Finca Magdalena - we took the new road, and grand it is, hand-layed pavers, up to the isthmus, where the road work ended and the old road picks up, which means about 5-10mph for the next hour or so - first-time-to-Ometepe folks in our group were quite impressed with the road and the pace.

Doña Carmen was at the porch when we arrived - she gave me the biggest, most welcoming hug I can imagine, and many socios were talking about el nuevo tostador. I am so happy and privileged to be here - has the feeling of coming home to the real world.

Yesterday, Thursday, Doña Carmen and I directed, i.e. sat on chairs on the porch and watched, the assembly of the grill.

(Erick had met us at the Managua airport with the big, heavy box - Diane had arranged back in Sept. for Erick to purchase the grill at the Managua Pricesmart. When we exited the baggage area at the airport, around 9pm Wed., Erick was just driving up in a jeep with the box in the back!)

The grill is together, but as predicted the gas fitting is screw-on and the tanks around here are push-on. So, today, the group took off for Altagracia (on the Concepción side of the island) to look for parts needed to adapt to the local tanks - Lee and Wes are in charge of this mission. Did I mention my gout attack - well it actually began last Thursday and I guess I basically ignored for the project-critical attention. Yesterday I rested, but the base of my left toe was pretty painful and quite swollen - got on the ibuprofen, lots of liquid, and today, Friday, the pain is starting to subside, swelling is still apparent.

As you, the reader, can tell this is a rambling journal - just trying to get the events in "history" down before the next event happens. So I am here at the finca, plugged in to the internet - the wireless down at the cocina is down, but being somewhat a member of the honored guests I get machine-room privileges, I also can go in the kitchen and the storeroom at will - which I consider very special.

We have photographically documented everything and will probably start getting photos up here in the next day or so. One more thing for now - yesterday, Yamileth and Everito, quién tiene tres meses, came to visit - the photos of me and Everito will appear here - a little overwhelming, and wonderful, my feeling of family here.

If the gas fittings mission is successful today we may be roasting this afternoon or tomorrow - very excited at the prospect. Will report.

Ahora es tiempo de almuerzo - oh, and if you know Spanish, please excuse my feeble attempts but I will try making stuff up, randomly, in these posts. The language immersion is all ready having its desired effect, like struggling with the Spanish to a visitor here who actually speaks English - my confusion is refreshing and cleansing, oh and comical <- David Mitchell says us gringos are better comedy entertainment for the Ometepinos than any sitcom on tv.

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Andamos a Lago Cocibolca

2005-12-29T17:00:00.000-08:00

A mile down the road from Finca Magdalena, west a bit and one finds Lago de Nicaragua aka Lago Cocibolca. Lee, Wes, Celina and Kris far outpaced the group walking into Balque and found themselves a quiet spot lakeside to wait for the others to catch up - which they never did.

When we returned, we found David Mitchell and Lisa Giles had arrived on Ometepe! Perfect timing to help David Adler con el espanol for la tostador demo.

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Organico

2005-12-29T10:12:00.000-08:00

Ilse and Lee's photos of the new organic vegetable garden at Finca Magdalena. Like most projects Nica, this garden exists without the benefit of fancy tools or any garden implements at all. This land is not conducive to tractor use and the money doesn't exist to even purchase hoes, shovels or trowels. Like the paved roads, all work is done by hand. Another testiment to an amazing group of hard working people.

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Estamos aqui

2005-12-28T14:24:00.000-08:00

We made it and all the luggage as well. Weather is so mild and lovely! The gardens are resplendent. Can't wait to explore. Kris

Hi Andrea, I've arrived safe and sound and into my third cervesa .... Wes

Great shots of Concepcion volcano, hope you can deal with all those leftovers.

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Island to island by ferry, plane, bus and ferry

2005-12-28T09:50:00.000-08:00

The ferry from San Jorge lands in Moyogalpa, Ometepe. Manrrique supervises the off loading of the important luggage - the roaster parts, medical supplies and misc. donations and gifts.

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Map of Ometepe

2005-12-27T08:30:00.000-08:00

Diane and Robertito (right), Celina, David, Pat, Elisa, Genevieve, Kristi, Henrietta, Kris, Ilse and Lee and Wes leave for Ometepe, Nicaragua December 27, 2005. This will be a first visit for Genevieve, Kristi, Henrietta, Kris, and Wes, who always wanted to go but couldn't get away during November official BOSIA delegations - a too busy time of the year for working stiffs.

We arrived in Managua Tuesday, stayed over one night in Granada. Wednesday we head to Rivas, San Jorge, then Ometepe to stay at Finca Magdalena, explore the island until Jan 7th. We'll return to Granada for three days, with a side trip to visit San Juan Del Sur on the Pacific, Laguna de Apoyo, Catarina and Masaya. Diane, Roberto, Manrrique and David will stay another couple weeks but the rest of us fly back to Bainbridge January 11th. Stay tuned for real time updates and notes on our adventures.

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Packing Party

2005-12-18T23:37:00.000-08:00

How many people does it take to pack twelve suitcases supplied by BOSIA from the Rotary Auction? Donated items include: baby clothes and toys (Eddie Bauer Int'l Division), towels, bedding, threads and yarns (BI Knitters Guild members), medical supplies, coffee roaster attachments (the roaster is already in Managua), a defibrilater (Phillips-Heartstream), Spanish Scrabble and Monoply and more ....

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El Proyecto Tostador

2005-12-18T16:49:00.000-08:00

Read comments to see updates on the story of the RKDrum roaster setup at Finca Magdalena, Coop Carlos Diaz Cajina #1, Balgüe, Isla de Ometepe.

Handy links to show my finca friends, including some explanations en español. Mi español es débil; for example, I called first crack "primera grieta". "Grieta" does mean crack, but it's like a crack in a rock wall, fissure, crevice. "Primero pop" seems like a better expression - for now.

Kobricks Coffee has a description of the roast process
Cómo Conocer mas el Café is a magazine article about coffee quality, Norberto E. Petryk, chef, escritor e investigador
Comercio Justo coffee global issues

Posted by David
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