Mar 24, 2013 - Finally got wifi this evening!

Sorry for the delay but wifi is hit or miss! We have been visiting feeding centers through out Nicaragua. The level of poverty and malnutrition are critical challenges in this country. Today I visited a "bakery" in Neuva Vida. Neuva Vida was formed after Hurricane Mitch hit Nicaragua. Several thousand people live here in shacks and hovels. Somehow they bake 600 to 1000 loaves of bread in the bakery with no mixer and with a wood fired oven. Anyone have a used commercial mixer? They go by motorbike through the dirt streets selling the bread....

Mar 22, 2013 - Long trip to the country

Today we took a very long bus ride into the country to visit a school and a feeding center. The people here are wonderfully warm and generous. They have very little but they seem content. On our return trip we stopped to see the Masaya Volcano. It is still very active and we were allowed only 5 minutes on the rim. It was certainly enough. Sucking down the sulphur was not the most fun. The feeding centers are extremely grateful for the first aid kits. As it turns out, all of the kits are desperately needed. Thanks to DAN we are making a big...

Dec 28, 2012 - Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

12/28 Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala The country is the most populated of all in Central America with 14.7 million people in an area slightly smaller than Tennessee. The border with Mexico is very unsettled due to high risk of drug smuggling. Only 6 years of education is compulsory. Many ethnic Indian groups live here and still speak their native languages. (K’iche, Kaqchikel, Mam, Q’eqchi to name a few) The most popular tourist destination near the port is Antiqua which is 90 minutes away. We decided to stick around the port. There were lots of...

Dec 27, 2012 - Corinto, Nicaragua

12/26 – Day 2 in Puntarenas, Costa Rica It didn’t get quite as warm as we were expecting. A high around 90 and very humid is what we got. Jean, Jerry, Jim & myself had booked a Sky Walk tour in the tropical forest. Buses are air conditioned, so the 40 minute ride was comfortable. We saw white-faced capuchin monkeys along the way and another couple on our walking tour. A bird with pale blue feathers is the only tropical bird that was spotted. Rather disappointing. Leaf cutter ants covered our trail in one section. Pretty cute to watch those...

Nov 8, 2012 - Managua - Nicaragua

Managua - Nicaragua Up again at 3pm for a 12 hr coach ride. Much more national express, broken tv screen and dodgy music.  So. Many. Borders. Out of el salvador, Into Honduras, out of Honduras, into Nicaragua. On the bus, off the bus, passports out, passports away. Payment to get in the country, payment to get out the country. honestly can a girl not get through a jackie Collins in peace?! Made it to managua. Another major hub. Arrived at dusk so opted to stay at the bus terminal jail.. I mean hotel. Everything made of concrete. A wee...

Jul 22, 2012 - A rainy day

I don't think I slept a wink! I kept hearing all the strange noises you typically here on your first night somewhere, but just knowing we were sleeping in the barrios of Nicaragua was not helping matters. Now I'm not sure what made it more worse: hearing a mix of Nicarauguan disco music and Rihanna blasting from the neighbors until 3 a.m, the countless dogs barking until their owners went to bed at 4 p.m. Or the roosters that started up at about 5 a.m. Maybe it was the howling wind and rain that started around the same time. So, Kathy was...

Jul 21, 2012 - Managua to San Juan del Sur

At about 6:00 a.m. I was wide awake. Obviously my body was not aware that I was in another time zone. It was completely light outside, so I got dress, grabbed a book and headed for the pool area. I read for about 30 minutes, and Donovan was there with me. In 15 minute intervals, everyone started arriving poolside including my brother-in-law Jay, his kids, my mom, my kids and finally, my sister Natalie. The gang was all here! Our shuttle to San Jan del Sur did not leave until 1:30 p.m., so everyone put on their suits and hung out by the...

May 29, 2012 - Nicaragua or Bust!

We go to be present. We go to be transformed. We go in solidarity. We go as ambassadors of Presentation High School. But mostly we go to have our hearts broken open. And with your blessings we go with God! We have met together in the last several months to discuss our motivation for participating in this experience, to pray together, to share an authentic Central American meal and to talk about our hesitations and our fears. Today we packed up the many bags and boxes of donated clothes, shoes and medical supplies. Looks like we are just...

Feb 26, 2012 - Isla de Maize, Managua

Sobota 25 luty - Isla de Maiz Dzis ostatni pelny dzien na wyspie i poswiecamy go glownie na lezakowaniu przy plazy i popoludniowemu spacerowi wzdluz wyspy. Wieczorem kolacja w polecanej nam restauracji na polnocnym brzegu wyspy - Seva's. Pelna kolacja na dwie osoby (grilowane ryby) z piwami za okolo U$ 15. Niedziela 26 luty - Isla de Maiz, Managua Rano znow na plazy. Ostatnia kapiel w cieplym morzu. O 2-giej po poludniu biezemy taksowke na lotnisko. Odlot byc o 15:40 ale startujemy z ponad godzinnym opoznieniem (oczywiscie bez zadnych...

Feb 11, 2011 - Nicaragua

At 3am on the 9th Feb we got the bus from San Salvador to Managua. We arrived in Managua just after lunch and I decided we should head straight to Leon to go volcano boarding. We jumped on a local shuttle and made it to Leon by about 4pm. About an hour after arriving three of the Aussie girls we had been running into since Tulum turned up and were put into our dorm. Brendan wasn't feeling great but we decided to book the volcano boarding for the next day anyway. After dinner Brendan had an early night and I decided to head out with the...

Aug 1, 2010 - Managua for the day

We had to overnight in Managua since our 32 hour bus ride left at 6 am from Managua. We had heard bad things about safety in Managua so we were almost glad to get on the bus. This feeling ended when 3 out of our 4 seats were situated under leaking air conditioning. The people on the bus tried to rectifiy the situation by offering us plastic stools to sit in the aisle for this 9 hour segment of the trip - nice! From San Jose, Costa Rica to Divisa, Panama went as well as can be expected though and we were simply glad to get off this bus, even...

Apr 5, 2010 - Managua

This am we walked the 8+blocks in Leon to famous Nic. writers house/museum which has been closed over the weekend but it was still closed. Increasingly frustrated in this country, Bon now declares this the one never to return to. People, she says, are unfriendly - heard at least 3 during travels speak disparagingly of us 'gringos'-plus having had her fan taken from her bag on her bed, her coin purse w/ $5 US stolen, and bed bugs in at least 2 places we've stayed. Well, they have been 'recovering' from years of civil war and major domination...