Trip to Twin Peaks...Ometepe, Nicaragua

With the beautiful snow-capped cones surrounding Mexico City right now, I have volcanoes on my mind, so I thought I would take you on a trip this week to the beautiful island of Ometepe in Nicaragua which is made up of twin volcanoes Concepcion and Maderas....

The island, in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, is home to 30,000 people who live in 25 villages which are all thriving communities with a church, school and fertile fields to farm. According to the villagers, it is a tranquil, trouble-free life far from harsher places like Managua where life can be so much tougher...

In the lush, fertile fields beneath the twin peaks, bananas, maize, wheat, rice, coconuts, pineapples, coffee and tobacco are grown for export to the USA and Central America. For the tourist it is a remote, quiet haven perfect for a few days of chilling out. Be sure to get over to the East of the Island where there are tiny beach resorts like Playa Domingo right on the lake shore fringed by black volcanic sand beaches inhabited by white egrets...

Stay at Villa Paraiso in comfortable cabins with terraces and hammocks surrounded by tropical forest (73USD per cabin), and eat at the restaurant which serves up fresh lobster salad for lunch and tasty lake fish for dinner......

After a few days here, you will be truly sad to pack up, bid farewell, and leave....

To get to Ometepe, take a taxi, bus or shared minivan from either Granada (90 minutes, 18USD) or Managua (45minutes) to San Jorge and board the car ferry for Ometepe which takes about an hour to reach the Island. Villa Paraiso will arrange pick-ups from the port to get you swiftly to Santa Domingo (45 minutes, 20USD)....

For more travelling around the world take a trip to My World Tuesday by clicking here. Enjoy!!

The Magic of Markets - Nicaragua

Markets are the key to the soul of any culture, and Nicaragua is no exception. Each place seems to have its own special way of displaying and selling its wares, and wandering through the markets in Granada, it soon became obvious that in Nicaragua the modus operandi is opening up displays in huge baskets and sacks, or hanging goods from tiny plastic bags; neither of which have I really seen here in Mexico. Just admire these beautiful baskets.....

And all these open sacks and diverse hanging arrangements...



















It was a sheer delight to stroll between the stalls, chatting to the stallholders finding out their stories whilst browsing the goods on offer... The delightful old gentleman above had been running his dry goods stall in Granada market for forty years in the same place of course...

And don't you just love the beautiful designer arrangements of all these plastic pots and containers?? Truly a piece of unique Art!!

What and where are some of your favourite market displays???

Shadow Shot Sunday 34 - Managua Airport

Managua International Airport, Augusto C. Sandino, in Nicaragua is a bright, spacious, airy kind of place providing a pleasant welcome to the country. This is the foyer and all the interplay of shadows, patterns, reflections and shadow writing caught my attention as I was waiting for my flight back to Mexico via San Jose....

And where else in the world could you see such an idealistic cosy shoulder to shoulder relationship between the States and Iran and Libya... Don't you just love this admirably objective choice of clocks showing the International time??

For more fun with shadows check out Shadow Shot Sunday by clicking here. Enjoy!

Nipping around and about in Nicaragua....

If you want to soak up the real vibe of a country then the only way to travel is by public transport. In this way you have a real chance to step inside a culture, interact with the locals on a more equal footing, and enjoy the country from a more modest perspective. In Nicaragua you are spoilt for choice, as like India, Vietnam and other developing countries, everything is on the same road whatever the speed, from ox and cart, to horse and carriage, buses, tuk-tuks, bicycles, and speedy limo taxis..

The buses are the highly ornate decorated yellow school buses which are such a trademark feature of Central Amerca - here perfectly safe and fun to use. In Nicaragua, horse and carts are very common for the working day, and horse and carriages are the local taxi of choice in Granada. Bicycles are very popular too, and more often or not they accomodate two or even three passengers quite comfortably....

And let's not forget the very convenient option of the tuk-tuk seen in the smaller villages around Granada, such as this fleet both spotted and used in the small town of Diriomo....




















Wouldn't you miss out on so much if you only viewed Nicaragua from behind the wheel of a hire car?? For more windows on the world check out My World Tuesday posts by clicking here

Shadow Shot Sunday 33 - Nicaragua

Nicaragua is a country full of baseball fans, and most seemed to be supporting the New York Yankees in the World Series last week, judging by the high numbers of NY baseball caps being worn everywhere. Large screens were erected in the streets so fans could sit and watch in the comfort of the cooler air. Granada, a beautiful colonial town in Nicaragua, has its own baseball field where players love to emulate their heros, encouraged by high numbers of spectators both on the bleachers, and peering through the wire mesh fence. This roadside shack serving drinks sits at the edge of that baseball field. Don't those three red bar stools look particularly friendly and inviting??
For more inviting shadows check out Shadow Shot Sunday by clicking here

Day of the Dead in Nicaragua....

Day of the Dead is a very important day of observance in Nicaragua, especially in the village cemeteries like this one in Catarina about an hour away from Granada...

November 2nd is a National holiday in Nicaragua, and extended families flock to the cemeteries to spend the day decorating the graves with beautiful flower arrangements.....

The celebration is very different from Mexico and there are no overnight candle vigils, ofrendes, marigolds, incense, sand paintings, skeletal images, or sugar skulls. Instead the focus is on the daytime observance decorating the graves and spending time in the cemeteries with departed loved ones....

Families were very relaxed about being photographed and talking about the relatives they were honouring that day. In this photo appears Jessica with her family paying respects to her mother who died only two years ago. Francisco talked tenderly about his six month old son pictured here in the arms of his grandmother. Also here is Rosa with her family who were first decorating her mother's grave who died twenty four years ago, before moving to another part of the cemetery to start decorating her father's grave...

If you get the chance to witness this unique celebration in Mexico or Central America - do not miss the opportunity, as it is such a special occasion.

A Remote Culture??.....Nicaragua

Meet Fatima who is transforming the age-old cultural skill of carrying her wares upon her head into the modern age; a slight technological glitch perhaps, but there is something about this photograph which really appeals to me. Of course there is no shortage of the more traditional shots to be found in Nicaragua.....

Or these...
And when I was in Guatemala at Easter, the women from a local textile cooperative even enjoyed giving us a demonstration of the said balancing act, trying to encourage us to acquire the skill. They enjoyed emphasising the cultural difference whereby, if they had something to carry, without thinking, it would automatically go straight to their heads...

I like to think that Fatima may be striking a new note for Nicaragua; a time to look with fresh ideas beyond the traditional images. The country is still perceived by many as being a remote and distant far off place, perhaps still troubled and unstable, perhaps still too under-developed and lacking infrastructure, certainly not at the top of most people's travel wish lists. But I would like to strike a note in the coming posts for its charm and beauty, its grand Colonial architecture, scenic lakes, islands, and volcanoes, tranquil laid-back coast, vibrant markets and artisans, and the friendly welcome given to visitors...... There are many, many reasons to enjoy travelling here...

Old Rockers Rule OK......Nicaragua

Judging by the numerous brightly-coloured hammocks for sale everywhere in Nicaragua - in markets, on roadside stalls, on display, strung up wherever, you may be forgiven for thinking that, like Mexico, it is another country seduced by laid-back, chilled-out hammock culture...

That assumption, however, would be quite wrong, and in all the time I spent travelling through Nicaragua, I only saw a couple of inhabited hammocks...

Here the relaxation mode of choice is quite firmly the good old-fashioned rocking chair....

Set out in cosy groups for conversation, lined up for sale in markets, rigid rows for prime-time tv viewing, or singly for that moment of solitude on the stoop, they adorn every interior, patio, courtyard, terrace, doorway, and porch.....

And are inhabited and rocked in by young and old alike...

Prime time for rocking is of course the hour of dusk when the temperature cools, and the first fresh breezes of the day are gratefully received. Then it's time to catch up on the gossip of the day, chill out a little, or simply watch the world go by...

It is a custom quite charming and part of a "sitting on the stoop culture", indicative of both the Caribbean influence and time-warp appeal of Nicaragua. Having lived in Mexico for four years, I thought my preferences were firmly for hammocks, but having rocked away for a couple of hours on a hotel porch whilst waiting for the bus, I am now not so sure. The rhythm of the rocking chair allows you to slip peacefully into the rhythms of the country. What would you plump for?? hammock or rocking chair?? Let me know!! In the meantime check out other windows on the world by clicking here for My World Tuesday.