A Year In New Zealand

I started a new blog called Forever Gypsies with my friend Sarah Alexander. Her and I have started our year in New Zealand. Check periodically for updates, we will be including fun weekly facts, words, and sometimes videos!

Forever Gypsies <------click here="" p="">

A Voice For the Voiceless

It's a small piece of land, ground barren with scattered debris of sticks, divided by a wooden bamboo and wired fence. On one side lies a Capuchin monkey, tied by the neck to a chain that extends to a nearby Tamarind tree. On the fence is another Capuchin nibbling on its toes and fingers. A familiar whinnie makes its way to my ears. From my time spent observing troops of spider monkeys in the wild, I knew there was one amongst me. I saw this Long Limbed Beauty gracefully climb the chain to a Tamarind branch then back down to a post in the middle of the fence.

Maika Calpull, Matagalpa

Matagalpa from the top of Cerro Apante

Matagalpa is thus far one of my favorite cities visited in Nicaragua. It has a rich history, rolling hills lined with brightly colored homes, beautiful churches, amazing coffee and easy access to Cerro Apante. Matagalpa means Pueblo Grande (Big Town) that comes from the Matagalpa Indigenous Language, Maika=Head, Calpull=Town. The Matagalpa natives were the first here and still have a presence, more notably with their beautifully hand made "Ceramica Negra."

In the 1840's a German couple rather unintentionally settled in the area. The story goes that they were on their way north by carriage to California for the gold rush but heard from a couple from there that it wasn't a safe place for children (they had a two year old). Not wanting to go home empty handed they asked if there was any gold to be found in Nicaragua. Sure enough they were pointed to Matagalpa where they bought land and began looking for gold. They planted a coffee tree on their land and were surprised to see it thriving three years later. Not striking it rich in gold they began cultivating coffee.

Comida de Nicaragua

Que Rico!

It is a good thing I love Gallo Pinto (beans and rice) because it is the staple of my diet here for every dinner meal. In the picture above are one of my favorites, Tostones, which is a sliced and fried green platano thus squashed and served. It is especially delicious topped with a salty fried cube of cheese. Some of you may be cringing or salivating at the thought of these fried treats. I usually do both at the same time and convince myself it's okay to eat because I eat a bowl of fruit in the morning. :-)

Panama School, Nicaragua

Tati dibujado-Tatiana drawing

Every morning for the last two weeks I took the cramped micro bus to a place called Tempisque, then walked fifteen minutes along the dirt road to the Panama School. This is the poorest area of La Concha, Nicaragua. Fumes from the nearby Masaya Volcano blow its ashes onto this area. As a result it prevents campesinos-famers from growing a variety of crops. I would pass by fincas-farms which can only grow mainly pineapple and pitaya. Another problem is contamination in their drinking water. The volcanoes ashes degrade the metal of their roofs where they collect drinking water when it rains.

I've heard there are almost seven hundred children in this area but less than two hundred attend school. This is because another way of collecting water is by getting it from the river. The children are put to work and spend hours hauling the water supplies. One day I saw a family pass me on the road. Imagine a wooden cart with two wheels in the back, and in the front where there would usually be a horse or cow, is a small child. The young girl must have been around ten years old while her mother, grandmother and sibling walked along side.    

First Week in Nicaragua

One of the many rescued cats that live at La Mariposa