Beware the Ides of March

We cannot believe March is almost over. This has been a full month with many ups and downs. Our team will fill you in...

Jeff
Well, the downs have been mine actually so I am pretty glad April is just two days away. I think the super moon had something to do with all of my misery.  I will just get the complaining/sympathy-mongering out of the way now so feel free to skip this paragraph. It all started with a flea infestation which only seemed to impact me and the dog. I got 41 flea bites in one night and although I initiated a very successful chemical warfare effort the damage was done. I was going to post pictures but Aileen told me nobody wants to see that so you can use your imagination. Besides, I cannot really post those photos because a few days later, in the midst of itching psychosis, I somehow killed my laptop. Fortunately Aileen has a work computer and all of my files were backed-up on the inter-cloud -- still, it has been a frustrating pain in the tush. To add insult to injury, just when the two weeks of non-stop itching started to subside one of the flea bites on my elbow got infected and turned into cellulitis - a serious staph infection which made me very sick and not to be confused with cellulite. Luckily I am finally starting to feel better which is a good thing since my folks are coming tomorrow. Well, can you see why I am glad that March is coming to an end?

The truth is life has been extraordinarily smooth during our 9 months in Nicaragua so we do not have much to complain about (but that never stopped me). Despite all of my trials and tribulations March has been pretty fun. The new, more serious approach at the school we blogged about has fallen by the way side so the girls only end up having class 3-4 days a week. This allows lots of time for fun and games. Emma and Hannah have been playing with the many new friends they have made. Sometimes Dad wants to play too and we go to Matagalpa to shop, eat and goof around. The last time we were there a photographer asked Emma, Hannah and I to be in a promotional flyer for Don Chaco's, a local eatery that specializes in fruit and vegetable drinks. We received no payment other than the glory of becoming local celebrities. When not hamming it up for the cameras we have been going horseback riding at a nearby coffee farm. Fortunately the girls have stopped asking me to buy a horse as long as they get to go riding every so often.

Hannah's class with a fresh coat of paint

Emma and I have also been busy with our presidential duties at school. I organized a daddy brigade to paint Hannah's classroom. It was a ton of hard work that took about three days to finish. The lady who forced me to be class president just smiled knowingly when I showed up to school Monday morning still covered in paint. "I knew you should be president," she laughed at me and then proceeded to take credit for getting the room painted; the funny thing is that there is much truth in her claim. Emma was not about to be shown up by her old man so she organized her own project. Frustrated with all of the garbage on our streets, Emma organized a cleanup day that she describes below. All in all, both of these efforts were a huge success and much appreciated.

The best thing about March was the many trips to the great outdoors. The rains have stopped and the temperature is relatively cool. Our puppy Cuate, my friend Evaristo and I have been taking 2-3 hour walks down various trails near town. We have visited some beautiful villages, a waterfall and other wonderful sites. Each trip seems to offer a special prize. Once we saw a sloth taking a bath and then slowly climbing up a tree after seeing us - it was the first time I ever saw a sloth so close. I discovered a beautiful swimming hole in a lush forest that was full of hundreds (maybe thousands) of butterflies. Just the other day we found a huge troop of howler monkeys. All of this is just outside of town and there are still many areas I have not yet visited.

San Ramon from a nearby hill - we conned the security guard into letting us walk though this quasi-public park

Our big trip this month was an exploration of Somoto Canyon. Somoto is a small town near the Honduran border and not much of a tourist destination until recently. In 2003 some Czech scientists "discovered" the canyon which is where the Rio Coco is born. We hiked about an hour to the floor of the canyon and had to hike over rocks to get to where the river was deep enough to swim in. Emma and Hannah had tubes to float in while the guide and I swam through the canyon. It was a stunningly beautiful trip and about half way through I saw some folks rock climbing! This is the first time I have seen anyone climbing in Nicaragua and we talked for some time about the potential for this area. I estimate there are 100 climbing routes in the canyon and we are planning a meeting to talk about developing the area. Anyhow, once we left the deepest part of the canyon a boat met us and we rowed back where our truck was parked. After dropping off our guide we drove back to town and enjoyed the charms of Somoto of which there are many. Folks were very friendly and were really interested in chatting with us. We stayed in the very cute Hotel Panorama which is lovingly cared for by its Nicaraguan owners. They let the kids visit with their pet monkeys which was of course a huge hit. I definitely would put this on a list of must visit places in Nicaragua.

We always meet interesting locals and tourists on our sojourns and the trip to Somoto was no exception. The climbers we met are North Americans and live part-time in Matagalpa. One opened a youth hostel and the other started an organization called Peaks Over Poverty which leverages her interest in climbing to fund sustainable agriculture projects. I keep meeting young folks who are doing good in the world by creatively leveraging their interests rather than following the same old nonprofit path that I have been walking on for so many years. I hope to work with Peaks Over Poverty to help develop a climbing area in Somoto Canyon that will benefit the local community. Very exciting stuff but I am still happy March is coming to a close. 

Aileen
"I wrote the last post, leave me alone."

Emma

Recently I had a VERY exiting last 2 weeks. I am the Class President, and I organized a group of kids to help me "clean up the town." I gave everybody a bag and told them to go collect as much garbage as they could and put it in the bag and bring it back for prizes. We gave out pencils and erasers. I have a new friend named Cindy. Together we made a bunch of posters about not throwing garbage in the street. Everybody does that here. We also had a woman's job day and I dressed up like an explorer.  Last weekend me, Hannah and Daddy went to Somoto canyon, it is called Somoto canyon because it is close to Somoto City. Somoto Canyon was formed by Rio Coco and the water is very cold. I am still studying guitar and I am getting into the harder stages. Even though it is hard it is still fun. I also am learning to make tortillas and do other things around the house with our helper Flaca.

Emma the explorer

Making tortillas

Hannah
I wish you all are doing well. School is super fun. I did not play with my friends today because I was sitting alone today and my head hurt. My school is named Frey Bartolome de las Casas. When we first go to school we have to do formacion before we can go to our class. I was a little bored at recess but I still played in my classroom. My friend Montse is sick and I wish she was not. I am super excited because tomorrow is school and then my grandparents are coming. I wish you could come too. I like the United States more than Nicaragua but I like Nicaragua too. My Spanish is getting better and better but it is still hard.  I build forts and also help my Dad cook dinner when I cut onions, I have to wear sunglasses.

Cutting onions Hannah-style

One of Hannah's forts being constructed

We will be back next week with a report on Grammy and Pop Pop’s big adventure in Nicaragua.