WF Nicaragua Travel

Hola! Although we’re currently in San Juan del Sur enjoying the beach, great coffee, and amazing espresso brownies at Gato Negro, I just wanted to leave a few thoughts and pictures from our experiences at NicaHOPE in Managua last week. Though many have posted about the dump and the experience of seeing people live there amidst all the trash, there is still a community and a feeling of life and hope in La Chureca. Manual, an employee of NicaHOPE as well as Mary and Luis, two other employees who lived in the dump, accompanied us through the dump and helped us find plants to take back to the Acahualica school. Even in all the trash, medical wastes, fires, plastics, and tires, seeds are still able to sprout. There were mango trees, small “olive trees” (not really olive trees in the America/European sense but trees nonetheless), and a variety of other indigenous plants that end up growing there after their seeds were brought in with the garbage. Digging with pieces of bone and putting the small plants in rusted paint cans and old cardboard boxes, we ended up with about 30 plants that we then planted around the sidewalk we built at the school as well in the school yard. While we were working at the school, we also hung white boards donated by our group. At the beginning of the week, the principal explained that it was difficult to teach classes of 40+ students without any way to present information visually on a blackboard. Though these improvements may seem small, it represents the hope and optimism for change that exists within the Nicaraguan people, especially those living and working in La Chureca.

Hope all is well back home. I know many are looking forward to returning in just 3 days…but it’s hard to believe our time in Nicaragua is just about over.

PS: Mom and Dad, still healthy and well…so no need for more gray hairs Mommy! Much love. -L

Saludos desde Nicaragua!! We’re back at Los Pinos/home (just in case you haven’t already gathered that…) and loving the hot showers after a week in Chinandega and a weekend in Ometepe. So, rewind to 7 days ago and Molly, Haven, and I were engaging in activities very unfamiliar to the average American. Ometepe is beautiful, don’t get me wrong…but Finca Santo Domingo’s cabinas certainly made for some great/interesting memories. Room 10 (affectionately known as the Hobbit Hole) was buried under the kitchen and looked fine at first. However, after an amazing dinner of kebobs (and slightly more questionable mango juice…see picture), things looked a little different.

Coming back, we had to find a Nicaraguan to open our door (embarrassing)…and then couldn’t get the air conditioner working either. We settled in and explored a whopping 10 by 8 room with oddly colored walls and satin toilet seat covers….and bed bugs. I’m pretty sure the entire island of Ometepe heard us screaming upon that discovery, and the Nicaraguans sitting outside our door were laughing when we finally emerged to go see if there was another room. We moved across the street to cabin 12. No air conditioning, no bed bugs, no problem. We did a quick monkey check (apparently they are native to the area and occasionally end up in the cabins) and finally were ready to go to bed when Molly realized that the bed was broken. Not slightly but the entire wooden frame was cracked through. Oh well. Nicaragua’s all about those experiences and relationships, right?!?!

The rest of the weekend was relaxing as we hiked to a waterfall, spent time in Lake Nicaragua, and went to a quinceañera (only after a very open invitation from the hotel’s manager). However, as we boarded the boat to head back to the mainland, I think Molly, Haven, and I were all ready to say “Adiós” to the Hobbit Hole.