¡Yum-El Vigoron!

Okay, so all of the travel guides say not to eat the street food. My host Rotarian's mom invited me to try "comida tipica", typical food of Granada, in El Centro (downtown hub of Central American cities). When I displayed some hesitancy, I explained that I eat all kinds of food but that I was concerned about getting sick because I am not accustomed to their foods. She assured me that this outdoor restaurant in El Centro catered to tourists and was safe and clean. (I eat typical foods in the home where I stay but they always clean everything well and clean veggies in bleach to kill unfamiliar microbes) So I tried el vigoron, which is cooked, mashed yuca plant with some sort of slaw and vinegar on top, served on a banana leaf with chicarrones (fried pork rinds). If you are not a meat eater, don't worry, the chicharrones are on the side and can be picked out, or you can ask for it to be left out completely. Although that isn't really like a Nica, because they like their pork like most North Carolinians! I noticed that Evita (middle) ordered mine and Julie's (left-Rotarian from NC) "seca" or dry. She told me that they are usually made with a lot of oil, but since I was not accustomed to that she asked for that to be left out-thank you(: (pictured on the right of the 3rd pic is Evita's daughter, Karen). I am happy to report that I didn't get sick(: I love yuca-almost better than mashed potatoes! Oh, and I almost forgot, the drink is jugo de tamarindo-IDK, we don't have it in the States, but it is delicious. However, if you don't like pulp, don't get it. It is kind of like drinking a scuppernong juice with the seeds, only the seeds are soft, for all y'all from the South! P.S. Do we have yuca in NC?

More about Organic Coffee...

Here you get a view of the outdoor-concrete where the coffee beans are dried, the machine that separates the bean from the husk, and the workers who are hand separating the good beans from the bad beans, to prepare bags for export. They separate one large bag (100 lbs.) per day for export. Here are the coffee beans before roasting, where they will gain their darker color. Tourists can purchase coffee candy and coffee beans at the coffee plantation Las Flores, at Mombacho. They also sell delicious food and beautiful candles at Las Flores Café in Managua.

http://cafelasflores.com/

Organic Coffee Plantation at Mombacho-Las Flores

I went to a café in Managua, named Las Flores, and it had the best tasting coffe in the world. (Sorry Starbuck and Dunkin' Donuts) I saw on the Las Flores web page, which I will include at the end, an option for coffee vendors. Hmm...I might need to talk with Ed Ruiz, the owner of Trent River Coffee Company in New Bern! The taste is smooth and rich, but not too strong. I was able to purchase my ticket to visit the organic coffee plantation at this coffee shop, for a very good price of $15, which included the transportation, a detailed guide of the plantation, and a tour of Mombacho. Tourists in Granada are paying $13, but this doesn't include the coffee plantation tour; and this was a highlight of the trip, if you are interested in plants, pesticide-free farming, and the process of making coffee. A little tip, though. If you plan to do the full tour, don't have another event on the calendar for that day. When you are ontop of Mombacho, the buses (kind of a military type truck) only return at certain times. So, if you are done, you may have a 2 hr. wait, and trust me, the descent is very steep! My legs were sore for four days! (and I thought I was in pretty decent shape-lol) I have to admit though, I wasn't planning on hiking (I wore flip-flops) because the locals refer to this as the "little" volcano, so I was saving my hiking shoes for Ometepe; which by the way, just ended up being a tropical resting spot because I was so sore Case in point, don't listen to the locals-it's all perspective-all volcanoes are big to me, as we don't have any in NC! I'm such a "flat-lander" as the Vermonters say. Although I think even a true Vermonter may have a hard time with some of these "little" volcanoes. (Right, Buzz?). Back to the coffee tour: Ok, so the top picture is the lovely organic compost. Unless you have seen the results of pesticides on the neurological system and overall health of farmworkers, I guess you really couldn't refer to compost as lovely. Having worked with farmworkers through the NC Farmworker Health Program (NCFHP), and having seen the pesticide exposures and consequences, I found this organic process thrilling. They use ethanol spray on the compost and have bottles that look like beetle traps, with ethanol inside, to attract the bugs. The plantation has sixteen full time workers, one of which was our tour guide. He is standing next to a Costa Rican coffee plant that is similar in taste to the Arabica coffee plants that they grow, but it is a hardier plant. One plant that is well taken care of lasts 40-50 years! The 2 main problems are "brocas", an insect smaller than a termite, that can dry out the plant, and "rolla", a yellow dust that can be carried from the workers hands and infect other plants. Interestingly, when it rains too much (which hardly ever happens in Nicaragua), that also drys the plant out-it actually looks burned! The group of small plants pictured have been infected with brocas so they will go through and hand pick the infected leaves, and new shoots will grow so that the plant can be productive again. Each plant can produce 3,000-5,000 grains of coffee if well-tended. On the last picture you can see part of the water resevoir, which can hold 1,800 gallons of water-it is now half-full. During the harvest 40 more temporary workers are employed. I am so happy to know that there aren't pesticides floating down the volcano to the inhabitants of Masaya and Granada! The site for Las Flores:
http://cafelasflores.com/ Site for the NCFHP: http://www.ncfhp.org/about.asp

A view from the bell tower of Iglesia de la Merced in Granada, Nicaragua.

Visiting the island of Ometepe was a unique experience. We barely brushed the tip of the island, but after hiking Mombacho we just wanted a tropical rest, and Charco Verde was perfect. Charco Verde is a non-commercial beach, and has a natural reserve with beautiful birds and monkeys. If you get close enough to the monkeys to take pictures, be careful not to get directly underneath them! Our driver, Harrington, was born and raised on the island and loves his heritage. He said that he isn't concerned about the active volcano, Concepción (pictured), and says that he sleeps easy at night(: Harrington said that the inactive volcano, Maderas, could destroy the island within seconds. He says that many of the young people are worried and have moved to Granada, but he loves his island home. Charco Verde has beautiful beach front cabañas in a lovely setting with an outdoor tropical, bar/restaurant next door. For a non-commercial, relaxing

rest with an easy to hike nature trail, I highly recommend Charco Verde! The middle picture was taken from the shore of Charco Verde, looking over Lake Nicaragua. The wind mills are located on the shore and provide energy for the city of San Juan del Sur, which borders Costa Rica. The view of Concepción was taken from the lagoon side of Charco Verde, and the monkey, of course, was chilling in the natural reserve.

La Estatua de la Madre en El Centro-Granada

These 2 photos were taken in downtown Granada at El Centro. How awesome that Rotary invested in a statue that honors mothers. Thanks, Rotarians! (By the way, the Rotary Group from Boston has arrived and I will have more on them later this week)

A Fun Bus Ride

So, I was on my way back on the bus from Managua to Granada, doing my usual - reading my book for Women's Health Care, PC 615 (Contraceptive Technology), when a mom and her baby sat beside me. He was so cute! He would look at me and then reach over with his hand and gently touch my arm, then he would look at me with his big, brown eyes and smile(: After awhile he tired of this game. He reached over and put his hand on my chest, then he laid his head on his mom's chest, and I could tell that he wanted to nurse. So, in the Central American manner-she breast fed him. I couldn't help but congratulate her and tell her how wonderful it was that she was doing such a healthy thing for her son, Derik. Marlen proceeded to tell me that he was eating other foods and still breastfeeding too. OK, so I was very excited that here I am in Nicaragua, sitting next to someone who is uninhibited about her health choices. The AAP, the Healthy People 2010, and the World Health Organization, and I would love for this to spread to North America! Anyway, we had a nice chat and she took a picture of me reading my text book, and of course I had to get a pic of her and her son. It was was a very pleasant bus ride.

Rotarians in Granada

Remember in my last post I mentioned that a "quinta" is a lake home and Peck was the maiden name of Karla's mom, so "Peckita"refers to the children. The lake home has been passed down from Evita's parents to her family. Karla says that she has lots of fond memories of good times at the lake. Her parents are very generous in sharing their hospitality with others. For those of you who may not have read previous posts, Karla runs an hospedaje (lodge) here in Granada, Hospedaje Ari, where I stay. Karla and her family, Bosco, and Ariana, are wonderful and it has been great staying with them. Pictured here at Quinta Las Peckitas is Evita, Karla, and Evenor. (Karla's parents) Karla was the president of Rotary in Granada last year, and her parents are very active Rotarians. There may only be one Rotary Club here, but they have done the work of 20 clubs! Karla has shown me DVDs with Rotary assisting to dig wells - the gift of life here for many-water. In addition Rotary has donated computers to public schools, built schools, donated medical and dental services, and constructed clinics, in collaboration with other local clubs, as well as clubs from the U.S. As I mentioned, there is a group that will arrive this week from Boston. This group includes medical personnel, and I cannot wait to see them and to go to the clinic in Pantanal with them. Thank you, Rotary!