Nicaragua, part 1

From tegucigalpa, honduras, i had baught a direct ticket to managua, nicaragua. plans are as good as long as they can be bent. truth is, i did end up in managua, five days later. what happen between then is the fruit of spontaneity and urges for adventure. in the bus, i open my guidebook. it might be gods act, the page open to a specific page, mentioning a special activity: ash'surfing on a volcano. turned out this was close to Leon, a revolutionary city, where, 30 years ago, a poet, disguised in a vulguar waiter, killed a dictator that was well installed for some 40 years. that was the start of a long and bloody revolution for nicaragua. Leon, therefore, was halfway through where i was suppose to get out. but there i went. and ash-surfing i did. the surf take place on Cerro Negro, one of the most active volano in nicaragua. uppon the seismic activity and it s regular erruption -every 8 years- cerro negro will errupt again this very year. this only adds to the thrill of this extreme sport. extreme because a) we have no protection. b) we take uncontrollable speed along the slope c) they say 'ash' but it's rather 'little sharpy edgy black rocks' and finally because d) 3 people out of our group of 8 ended up bleeding. extreme sport, in this case, might also be a synonimous for 'idiot', 'irresponsable' or, more plainly, 'stupid'. yet it was thrilling. yet it was challenging. yet it was fun. yet, if i'd be a robot and calculate all the pronostic of what to be done in order to maximize my health, i'd still probably be in my room, in montreal - and i couldn t get out of it, for maximized health concern. i'm no robot and i intend to live fully, with all the contradictions that make us what we are: humans.

the hotel were i crashed for 2 nights, in leon, was named lazybones. lazybones, as much as i hate to admit that i did love it, is a backpackers paradise. there are hammocks all over, free internet, free coffee and tea, a nice pool, the vibe is cool and relax and so are the people droping by. on my first evening, i got cought in a restaurant where the special of the day was rose-beef with mash potatoes. i simply couldn t resist to this hommy meal and it was so yummy indeed. inside the restaurant, i noticed a hockey jersey on the wall, only to learn later that the place was owned by a canadian. on my second night, i stopped, with the ash-surfing gang, to a local comedor. the place consist of a tiny room, which is open on the chef s living room. basically, we're sitting in someone's house, and while the big lady is serving us, we can enjoy the baseball game - national sport here- along with her husband which is sitting on the sofa, by the tv. talking baseball, nicaraguans refer to 'el presidente' as to Dennis Martínez, the first Nicaraguan baseball player to play in Major League Baseball, with Montreal' Expo !

on the next, i took off for estelli, the main coffee region in the country. i was sort of lucky, as one of the brother of the farm passed by the coop where i was heading to get more info. he drove me to the family's house, where i got to spend the night. i was super well fed with excellent local homa made food. on the next morning, we visited the premisses of this fantastic organic coffee farm with senor canales and his older son, milton. we went back to the house only to eat a gigantic traditional breakfast with rice and beans, eggs, cheese, orange juice, and, is it necessary to mention it, coffee. i then bus-ed around untill matagalpa, another major coffee region where the museum of coffee stand - nothing less then a joke - a few pictures here and there, some documentation, that s it, really. still i managed to visit a coop nearby and chat with them about what is known as 'fair trade' coffee. i got really late in granada, nicaragua's first colonial city, where a comfy dorm bed was waiting for me in a replica hostel of lazybones, hospedaje oasis. i woke up early to stroll around and soke in the atmosphere of this vibrant and colorful city. the city is pleasant, well maintained, the architecture is beautyful, the markets are full and loud, the parque central and its cathedral, majestic.

when the mayan civilization was crumbling apart in mexico, a prophecy came to the hears of the most wise and sacred man. the prophecy mentioned that the mayans would have to flee south from mexico, in search of a perfect land, a land made with 2 volcanoes that would be surrounded by wather. this land is today known as isla ometepql. straight out from a fairy tale, this island could have been drawn from any little 4 year old princess: a big lake, with, at its center, 2 volcanoes that connect through a thin layer of earth. this, is where i am. after a smooth 3 hours boat ride from granada, i am officially in heaven, where there is nothing to do but relax, hike, horseride around and beach buming. an excursion is planed for tomorrow.