Water Falls We Hiked

Nicaragua is a country with many contrasts.
While driving down the main highways you will share the road with people walking, chicken buses, luxury buses, horse drawn carts carrying people and supplies, bikes, scooters, motorcycles, cars, oh yes cows, pigs, chickens, goats, dogs and occasionally something you might not know what it is.
Nicaragua has widespread unemployment and 48% of its people live below the poverty line. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal in the world. Rolling blackouts are the norm here and generally they happen daily if not every other day.
The people however carry on. By observation much of their day is spent doing the necessary things to survive. Collecting wood for their fires for cooking, washing clothes in the rivers or lakes, cleaning their yards and floors (dirt ) continually. We watched children swimming in the lake but this were not just for fun it had a duel purpose. They were fishing for dinner. Families generally have chickens, horses, dogs and cats. None are pets. Horses are used as transportation, working the fields, carting things, lawn mowers and fertilizer. Chickens are for eggs, reproducing and consumption. Dogs are for protection. Cats do not get fed, thus they will mouse or get rid of unwanted insects. Others are lucky they have pigs or cattle. The community has a barter system that works for them. One will do something or trade something for something else. The land is very fertile so fresh fruit and vegetables are not a problem.

Christmas is celebrated like North America for the Upper Middle and Upper Class. Very much commercialized. However the majority of Nicaraguans celebrate Christmas in the same traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation. The process was explained to us by Jamie who you will read about later.
The last month of the year is full of parties, happiness, family traditions, and religion. Massive processions take place all over the country. An inevitable and popular aspect is the gunpowder used in fireworks and firecrackers that loudly accompany the Nicaraguan celebrations.
Imagine ‘La Purísima’ like this: a richly decorated altar is placed in a corner of a family house, with a statue of the Virgin Mary‘s image. In front of this altar, a lot of chairs are arranged, that will be occupied by family members, friends, and neighbors invited by the house owners to celebrate its ‘Purísima’. Once all the guests arrive, the celebration starts with prayers to the virgin, but these are alternated with traditional songs. All the assistants accompany with whistles, tambourines and other instruments. While this takes place inside the house, outside some family members fire rockets and the so called ‘caraga cerrada’, (firecrackers) that contribute to a lot of boisterous celebration. Meanwhile the singings and prayers take place, the host distributes to his/her guests fruits, traditional sweets, caramels, traditional drinks, sugar-cane and many other gifts. Generally the more the family has the more they give, however it is not a contest and is not observed that way.
‘La Purísima’ is a celebration to the ‘purest conception of Virgin Mary’, taking place on December 8th, according to the Catholic calendar. ‘La Purísima’ is a tradition celebrated in all parts of Nicaragua by thousands of Nicaraguan families. These celebrations take place from the end of November and during almost all of December.
‘Purísimas’ are made for devotion or for gratitude to miracles that persons attribute to Virgin Mary. The families, or a couple of members of a family, realize a "novenario" of prayers to the Virgin lasting nine days. Sometimes, the first eight days the prayers are private, but the ninth one is celebrated as described previously, but every family puts a little of their own style. It is interesting how each family inherits the image of the Virgin from their ancestors; some of these images have been in the same family over a century. Some of the churches have the Virgin Mary to go! The statue is taken to the home where the Purisima will be then after the celebration will be returned to the church where the next family will bring it to their home.
The families celebrate Christmas on the 24th. The small villages with all the families get together for church, dancing, singing and fireworks. The official meal is not eaten until midnight.
The traditional food is the Nactamale. Nacatamales are a dough which is prepared with ground corn and butter. This is then filled up with small pieces of pork or chicken, rice, potatoes, tomatoes, onion, sweet pepper (all in slices). This mixture is packed in leaves of plantain trees (not edible), tightened with a small thread, that makes it look like a tiny pillow. It is then cooked inside the leaves and boiled during five hours. They are very tasty. Somewhat bland but one fills you up.

This week has been busy. After picking Alanna up we ventured further inland to partake in what Nicaragua has to offer. Our first stop was the City of Granada.
Granada is located on Lago Nicaragua. (Lake Nicaragua) It was founded in 1524. The colonial style homes are painted in bright colours, showing off their architecture. Tourism has had a significant role here. We took a horse drawn tour of the city but unfortunately most things were closed being that we arrived on a Sunday. The following morning we were able to explore a bit more. Alanna found a dress for her birthday, and a woven cloth for a Christmas present. I found a bright coloured painting depicting Granada which will adorn a wall on The Genesis.
That afternoon we caught a 3 hr ferry over to the Island of Ometepe. By the time we arrived it was dark so we opted for a mid island accommodation. Casa Hotel Istiam. This accommodation cost $8.00 per person. Alanna’s room was ok. Ours was, well different. I needed to relieve myself, and as I stood up something was swimming in the toilet. A small frog. We fished him out and let him survive. Next it was a Mexican Hat dance with a few cockroaches. That night I slept with the sheet over my head as to not hear the mosquitoes that were doing aerial maneuvers above us. Ken at one point in the evening got up to put on "OFF". This hotel however had excellent food, inexpensively. They did not have a cake however to celebrate Alanna’s birthday.
The following morning we boarded the chicken bus to go further into the Island in the small Village of Merida. Luckily the first place we stopped at was full. They graciously phoned our other choice which was a wonderful find.
To just back up a little; Isla Ometepe is an island formed by two volcanoes rising out of a lake. It is still very unspoiled and the people live the way their ancestors had. The 2 volcanoes are Concepcion which rises 1610 m above the lake and Mederas at 1394m. The island includes Howler monkeys, green parrots, blue tail birds and numerous of different colour butterflies. The island is great for the outdoor enthusiast, so the general age of the tourists seems to be about Alanna’s age.

We arrived at La Omaja where we shared a cabana. This is a very attractive hillside hotel with excellent cabins and fabulous views. The restaurant was fabulous, but what truly makes this place is its owners and staff.
The owner, Jamie was a lawyer who practiced law for 8 yrs in Omaha Nebraska. He had I guess, maybe a crises or a need to travel and arrived on this island taking Spanish lessons, then helping out in the orphanage. He fell in love, both with the country and his soon to be wife. He explains it that his parents thought he had lost it. All that schooling for what?
An opportunity arose to buy this piece of property from a local that needed the money. Well he sold what he had back in the States and now has the most wonderful piece of paradise on the island, a wife – Roxanne and two wonderful boys, Christopher and Aces. I sure believe he made the right choice.
Upon our arrival Jamie drove us to the hiking trail of la Casada de San Ramon. ( San Ramon Waterfalls) This was a 3 hr hike up to the falls. I now know what my New Year’s Resolution will be. No more drinking, restaurants, and a fitness plan! Out of shape is an understatement. We all made it up to a rewarding cool falls. Going down was much easier. On our trip home we mentioned that we still wanted to try the Nicaraguan Nactamale and in passing that it was Alanna’s birthday.
The following day Alanna was taken by a tour guide up to hike Volcan Maderas. It is an 8 hr, very difficult hike. The crater at the top has a lake but she said you would have to climb down into it so it wasn’t worth the extra four hours. That evening for dinner we were treated to the traditional dinner and Jamie had brought a women in to especially make Alanna a birthday cake. The Nicaraguan birthday song was sung to her then the Canadian version. I must admit I enjoyed theirs more. What a wonderful and thoughtful gesture.
If you want to stay at a wonderful place with wonderful people, learn some Spanish, volunteer, check out Jamie’s web page at http://www.laomaja.com/ . It was definitely well worth the visit.
The next morning Jamie had arranged for a taxi driver to pick us up from the ferry and drive us direct to Chenendaga. This would be a 4 hr drive. By bus it would take us all day and we possibly couldn’t have made it back to the boat, as it was Christmas Eve. We made it back and had a lovely dinner at the resort restaurant. We are the only boat in the marina so this Christmas is being spent together just as a family, missing RJ. We hope everyone out there had a wonderful Christmas.