Graham's Blog

We picked up the initial plans for our land today, ready to show to the islanders later on in the day. Traffic was busy around Managua, as always, but we were able to leave Casa Mary Jane approximately on time.

We headed south, through Masaya, to the large town of Granada. Here we stopped for about half an hour to let people see a bit of the town (very Spanish in architecture) and grab a bite to eat. Then it was back in the pickup and onto the Asese peninsula, located near to Granada. It took us about half an hour, on Ometepe-style roads, to reach the entrance to our land and then it was an interesting piece of 4x4 driving to get down the meeting point.

Over the next hour the islanders arrived by boat and on foot, as well as people from Samaritan’s Purse (who run Operation Christmas Child) – they are giving out shoeboxes of gifts to all the children of the peninsula during this event.

Tony arrived late carrying the refreshments, after suffering not one but two tyre blow-outs. The event got underway and we took a back seat as the guys from Samaritan’s Purse did a few speeches, a puppet show for the kids and gave out the shoeboxes – which the kids loved! Then everyone came over to Tony’s van, where we spent half an hour dishing out food and drinks for the hundreds of people that had turned out.

People started dispersing mid-afternoon and we headed off to one of the islands for a very late lunch. Tony, Dick and Lee went back to Granada in the Chevvy to get the two tyres changed. It was nice to spend some time relaxing in a real tropical paradise before heading back to Managua.

The drive back was slow and so it was quite late by the time we got ourselves and our bags to Las Mercedes (the hotel opposite Managua airport). We had a late, but very tasty dinner (minestrone soup, followed by chicken fajitas) and then headed off to bed, ready for a very long day of travelling back to the UK.

After breakfast, myself, Dick and Tony headed into Managua to meet with our architect, who’s sorting out the layout of the land for SIFT’s islands project. We then went on to an ASDA-style supermarket to buy fizzy drinks and biscuits for an event that we’re holding tomorrow on our land.

Once back at Casa Mary Jane we unloaded the stuff and headed out again – this time going south on the Carreterra Masaya, towards the town of Masaya. We stopped in Masaya and people went to one out of Masaya’s two markets for a bit of retail therapy. I went to the newer market, which is inside castle-esque walls, and looked around (eventually successfully) for presents.

We all had lunch at the new market, where the prices are amazingly cheap – a meal costs about C$35 – just over £1. Then, after a little more shopping, we were on the road again. We continued our journey south and then headed west to the town of Catarina, which has a number of roadside plant stalls as you approach the top of the town. Right at the top of the town you can look out over a huge crater lake, from the Mirador de Catarina (the lookout of Catarina). It’s a fantastic view and we were able to see the north end of Lake Nicaragua, the town of Granada, the Asese peninsula (site of the islands project) as well as the fertile land north of Lake Nicaragua.

Headed back to Managua and stopped at Narcy’s Pollos for our evening meal – thankfully there was nomanic clown there this year! Back at Managua we got some more refreshments for tomorrow. We ended up going to the checkout with one trolley half full of biscuits and another completely full of Pepsi / Fanta. Hopefully most of the 800 people that we’re catering for will turn up tomorrow – otherwise that’s a lot of food and drink to get rid of!

Dick and I had an early breakfast and were then off again in Wyman’s taxi, catching up with some of our sponsor kids and taking photos of the Bluefields schools (and the university, BICU). We had a productive hour before heading back to World Relief.

Most of us went to church – half with Wyman and half (including me) on the bus. Great fun driving around Bluefields in an old school bus! We arrived at the Verbo church (Pastor Ed’s church) and stayed for the first part of the service. The Verbo church was really good – the people were welcoming, people were really participating in the singing & stuff and were enjoying worshipping God. The band was made up of Pastor Ed’s teenage kids, who are talented musicians.

We left just before the talk and drove over to the tip road. Dick got some more admin done and we spent some more time with the kids, which was great. As per yesterday we accumulated a huge crowd of kids, so making an exit took quite a while!

We had lunch at World Relief and at 2:30pm headed to the airport. Some of us travelled in the back of Pastor Ed’s pickup, which was interesting as it started to chuck down with rain! We covered ourselves with a bit of black tarpaulin, which kept us mostly dry!

The flight back to Managua was fast, arriving about 5-10 minutes early. Tony picked us up at the airport and then took us to Pizza Hut for our evening meal. Hmmm… pizza!

Looking back on the last day I’ve been amazed at how I’m grown to really like Bluefields. Last year I wasn’t too keen on the place, but I think that my involvement with SIFT (and starting to support José’s family) has made me really appreciate the time that we’ve spent meeting people (and putting faces to names).

After breakfast we got our stuff ready and headed to Managua airport in Tony’s van. It was a typically manic drive through rush hour Managua, but we got to the airport in good time. Our plane left at 10:30am – a Shorts 360, seating about 30 people. The flight to Bluefields took about an hour, and there were some good views down over the west side of Nicaragua.

We touched down in Bluefields at 11:30 and headed off to the World Relief Centre in taxis. Bluefields hasn’t changed much since last year! We had a nice lunch and then started on Dick’s to-do list (we’ve got a lot of people to talk to!). For most of the afternoon we hired Wyman, one of the taxi drivers, to take us around. We were also able to use Pastor Ed’s pickup (he lives opposite the World Relief Centre).

Spent a lot of time up near the rubbish tip, visiting families that SIFT supports through our Education Sponsorship scheme. The highlight for me was visiting my sponsor family. We went down a steep-ish slope to their house, which is in serious need of a new roof (and a new rest-of-house, come to think of it). At the moment there are nine children living in the three roomed house (another family is staying there) and they’re finding it hard to make ends meet. Took some pictures of the roof so that I can raise money for it during the summer.

It was really good to see José (my first sponsor kid) with his friends. It was Saturday and so all the kids were out on the main road playing. He looks like a happy lad of 13, who helps out at home (and seems to be jumping about most of the time!).

After about an hour we headed back to World Relief, via a few other places. On the way we stopped for diesel, which was measured in a bucket and then poured into the tank via a huge funnel (with a cloth as a filter)! Only in Bluefields!

In the evening me and Dick spent some time talking to Pastor Ed and his family. His wife runs the Verbo school (one of the main schools that SIFT’s sponsor kids attend) and his daughter is training to be a teacher. They’re a really lovely family and it was good to chat through some of our ideas with them.

We had a nice lie-in this morning, waking up at the luxurious time of 7am! I went for a walk around San Juan before breakfast at 8. Afterwards we cleared out our rooms and headed off to the beach resort of Majagual for an hour and a half on the beach.

The beach was fantastic, with some really good breakers – it was good to relax after a busy few weeks on Ometepe. Next we headed off to another of the beaches near San Juan. The terrain in this area consists of a number of small, but extremely steep hills which go most of the way to the Pacific. After this we headed back to San Juan for lunch at the Pelican Eyes restaurant (nice, but very expensive!).

Quickly stopped back at the hotel (La Colonial) to pack the vans and then it was off to Managua. Our van went via the ferry port at San Jorge, so that Jono, Paul and Ross could head back to Ometepe to continue their year out at the CVC. It’s been really good to meet them and have them working on site.

The journey up to Managua was pretty uneventful – I was in the back of Tony’s Dodge Ram and so was able to watch all the scenery receding from us. Back in Managua we got settled in at Casa Mary Jane and then headed out to the MetroCentro (a large shopping mall and food court) for dinner. On the way there we passed the Nicaragua Carnival 2005, complete with an impressive firework display.

Back at Casa Mary Jane I explored the delights of Spanish TV, including both Yogi Bear and Hunt for the Red October in Spanish, which was… interesting!

Today we’re leaving Ometepe for a few days of holiday, so after breakfast we finished off our packing. We went to both of the clinic sites to say our goodbyes and also got a final peek at the site progress. It was encouraging to see that the second level of block work was beginning down at Santa Teresa. We said goodbye to people at the CVC before heading off to the ferry port at Moyogalpa.

The ferry left, as always, on time and halfway across the lake we had to rescue a man whose boat had capsized. He’d paddled to Ometepe in the morning and was on his way back when a wave caught him off balance. Praise God that he was in the path of the ferry!

Over at San Jorge we met up with Tony Langmead and rearranged the luggage. Tony took a lot of people to San Juan del Sur, whereas I went with Dick to do some jobs in Rivas before joining the others at San Juan. The day has been a real scorcher! We finished off the day nicely by spending some time on the beach and then having a meal (steak with pepper sauce for me) at a beachside restaurant. Isn’t holiday wonderful?

This morning we did the finishing touches down at Las Pilas. Three ceiling went up (myself & Jono did one of the bathrooms) and the whole place got cleaned up. We also brought down medical furniture from the CVC, making the place look like a real clinic. Barry added the finishing touch by putting up a wooden sign that he’d engraved with the words “Consultorio Las Pilas” (Las Pilas clinic), which completed the front of the building nicely.

Had lunch back at the CVC and got cleaned up ready for the ceremony. A massive sound system turned up shortly before the start of the event to make sure that everyone could hear what was going on!

People turned up fashionably later for the 2pm start, but hey – that’s Nicaraguan time for you. When we finally got going there was quite a large crowd of people. Dick, Dra Sandra and a village representative each gave a speech before the red ribbon was cut and the clinic was officially declared open. The first day of consultations is March 28th and it’s great to see a clinic complete (barring a few items) and with a start date. Hopefully over the next few months the San José clinic will also be opened.

After the opening there were refreshments and a chance for people to look around the new clinic. A bit later we headed back to the CVC and then onto Santo Domingo. By the time we got there it was dark, but we still went for a swim and wash in the lake.

A large number of people joined us for the meal, since it was a goodbye meal for Ruth & Anagalys (coming to the UK to learn English) as well as for us. The CVC staff came along, as did Ruth and Anagalys’ parents. At the end of the meal we sang some Spanish songs and prayed for Ruth and Anagalys as they set off on this adventure.

Today was our final day on site, and a half day at that. We finished off the estribo work that we began yesterday and then helped the builders as they finally began on the back wall. As always, they worked speedily, and by the time we left at lunchtime, the back wall was almost up to the 1m level. Fantastico!

Just before 12 we said our goodbyes to the builders, before Dick came to pick us up. In the afternoon we went down to Las Pilas – one of last year’s clinics. Tomorrow is the official opening ceremony for the clinic (we’re inviting along the local mayor, as well as people from all the clinic villages), so we need to get everything clean and finished!

Myself and Jono were given the job of fitting a suspended ceiling in the main consulting room. It took us a while to get going, but we quickly got into the swing of things. We decided to complete the room, and so headed back to the CVC at 6:20pm. It was really satisfying to see the final bit of ceiling going into place!

Back at CVC we had beef “steak” with rice, plantain and salad (tomato & onion). Pudding was mango segments. After tea I was finally able to catch up on my diary, as well as finding out a bit more of what happened of Dick’s trip to Managua.

My quads are still aching after the volcano trip (it seems to have lingered longer than last year, but that’s probably because we climbed so much faster) – hopefully they’ll be sorted by tomorrow!

Got up at 4am today in order to catch a lift to Moyogalpa (another interesting ride). Ruth & Anagalys were heading up to Managua to get transit visas through the States (they’re coming to the UK for a year to learn English) and I was going to Moyogalpa to phone Dick about the Chevvy situation – the mobile coverage on Ometepe is limited.

Returned to the CVC, had a quick brekkie and then headed off to site. We had a good day of work wiring the next level of estribos onto the building. It was good to see that the builders trusted us to do this task without any supervision. Excellent!

By the end of the day we had done a good amount of this task, and the builders were busy encasing the bits that we had done in concrete. By the time we got back from the beach, Dick had returned from Managua, so a lot of the evening was spent entering his trip expenses onto the laptop. Like yesterday, I was very glad of sleep!

Got up at 3:45 this morning (urgh!) and grabbed breakfast before leaving CVC at 4:30am, bound for Altagracia. Barry drove us to meet Naphtali, our guide, and then drove us as far up the foothills as we could in a 4x4.

The climb started at 5:30 and, with a few exceptions, was much as I remembered it (and it was just as hard and tiring) – see last year’s entry for more details. We saw a beautiful sunrise over Ometepe and entered the cloud early morning. We climbed quicker than last year and reached the crater rim by 9:30, still in the cloud. Took two almost identical pictures at the top compared to last year (I did climb it again – honest!), especially as I think I was wearing the same clothes.

At 9:40 we started the descent and stopped in some shade (from the wind) to have lunch from 10:00 – 10:30. The climb down was also quite quick and it was good to see the clouds clear beneath us. Got some really good pictures of the island.

By 13:30, with very tired legs, we reached the end of the descent and walked up the road to meet Terry, who took us back to the CVC. Job done!

Back at the CVC the immobilizer on the Chevvy was playing up, so we took Aida’s car down to the beach – it’s an interesting ride, especially as the car sounds as if it’s going to fall apart at any time! Tea was much appreciated after the day’s exertions, as was bed. I’m having to wake up earlier than usual tomorrow, but more about that then…!