I guess the Tumblr experiment worked out alright. I haven’t been back to this blog since late December.
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I may post at this blog in the future, but for now Tumblr is working out well for me despite its few annoyances.
Trying out the new and hip Tumblr thing. I’ll still post to this blog, but if you want some shorter and less insightful stuff from me, check it http://roadrich.tumblr.com/
I had to begin the process of moving my time lapses from Flickr to Vimeo because there has been rumor that Flickr video is going to be discontinued. Feel free to follow my Vimeo account. I can only post a few a week so it may take awhile to get all of my videos back up there. For now, here’s what I have:
Overall I would recommend travelling to Nicaragua. Since this was my first time out of the country I think this made for a unique benchmark for any future trips. The country is a bit more rugged than most U.S. travelers may enjoy but I think if you are a little more adventurous than average this trip is well worth it.
What I enjoyed about Nicaragua:
What I didn’t enjoy about Nicaragua:
After the 4 hour drive up from Ometepe we finally ended up in Matagalpa. My roommate has a friend in the Peace Corps there and she showed us around the town. If I do go back to Nicaragua I’d like to spend some more time exploring this town. It was more interesting than Granada and seemed to have a bigger population. The traffic was nuts, but that came to be expected at this point.
We stayed in a nice little hostel called La Buena Onda. This place was well worth the $40 a night for the hotel and I think $7 a night hostel. We went out to a nice Italian restaurant and had some of the best steak I’ve ever had. If I remember the name of the place I’ll post it here, but at the moment I can not.
After a night of drinking too much rum and guzzling tap water, I discovered the joys of Montezuma’s revenge. Fortunately you can get over the counter antibiotics there, so I started a regiment of those and stayed hydrated on Gatorade. Don’t drink the water. Seriously.
We hired a tour guide the next day to take us up to a coffee farm and show us how coffee is grown, picked and processed. The tour was a bit longer than my stomach and lack of sleep could enjoy but if I had have been in better health I think I would have enjoyed it more. We were taken around a farm and showed the process and the people that worked the farm. After several hours of that we were then taken to eat at an authentic Nica restaurant in Matagalpa. The food there was pretty good. The only thing I couldn’t stomach was the pork skin, which just tasted like chewing on crunchy leather. I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking on this adventure.
What scares me the most about travel is people. It takes a lot for me to let people into my world and this is especially true when I encounter a new culture. I feel very resistant and fearful of anyone new and often view them as a threat to my perspective. I have some theories onto why I am predisposed to these feelings. Like most prejudices, I think it has to do with early childhood experiences and my early childhood experiences were only of this country and the people in my own culture.
So I came to Nicaragua with a huge fear of being taken advantage of because of my race, which is probably the projection of all projections since it is quite clear that other races are the ones taken advantage of by gringos on the whole. My elementary school was probably 50% gringo and 50% Mexican and/or Central American so I did have early exposure to parts of that culture. So of all of the races outside of my own, I do feel most comfortable around Latinos. That said I do know that I have my own internal and completely irrational prejudices. I also have some completely irrational guilt about what people of my own color skin have done and are doing to subjugate and punish people that lived south of the Texas border.
To be perfectly clear, I do not think that any one race is superior over another. I recognize that we are all just humans and are of the same species and are equal as far as our DNA goes. But it wouldn’t be honest of me to say that all of my thoughts and emotions are in line with that. I have a lot of bad programming left over from my childhood that still pulls me towards prejudice thoughts and emotions. Part of the reason I am starting to put myself into situations that are outside of my own culture and race are because I want to actively change this programming and align it with reality.
Knowing all of this about myself I was quite afraid of visiting Nicaragua. I had this fear of being robbed or violently acted out against just because I am white. I even expressed that during the trip several times and felt like all eyes were on me because of the difference in my language, dress and color of skin.
The people in Nicaragua are generally extremely friendly. Much more so than the United States. Even when compared to the South where you have the famous “Southern Hospitality”. Most people give you a smile and do their best to help you, even though you don’t speak their language.
We got lost A LOT because Nicaragua doesn’t have any street signs. Well, they have a few, but so few that they are not helpful. You just have to know where you are going and all of the turns that are going to get you there. Everyone talks about distance in terms of time and blocks. “It is 15 minutes that way” or it is “three blocks to the right and then another four blocks to the left”. GPS systems do not work down there because of the lack of street signs. You just have city names and the amount of time in between each. So we pulled over a lot and asked for directions and the people were always extremely eager and helpful without expecting anything in return. Of course my prejudice programming made me keep thinking that they would ask for money, but they never did. When they wanted money they would literally put up a road block. We passed through a road on our way to Ometepe where they had a rope across the road held by several people. We had no choice but to stop and pay the donation toll to their church to continue on. I found this more amusing than annoying and sort of appreciated the straightforwardness of it.
I was afraid of being robbed too, because I heard that gringos were targeted because the locals knew they had money on them. At a bar on Ometepe I heard one of the locals talking about a car full of gringos getting robbed at machete point on the island just a week before. He actually thought it was us because the car was the same make and model. So I lived in constant fear that I would be confronted by one of these roving gangs and be forced to give over my possessions and who knows what else. This never happened of course, but it was disproportionately on my mind. I learned later that these incidents happened mostly at night and we were careful to not go out at night.
There was one part about the people that scared me more than anything. That was the cops. I was afraid every-time I saw one on the side of the road that we would be singled out and pulled over because we were wealthy gringos. We were told that most of the time they would just ask for money and you would go on your way. We were also told to just act like we didn’t understand (which we basically didn’t) and they would eventually just become tired of it and ask for money. On our way from Ometepe to Matagalpa, at an intersection where we had seen cops pulling people over before, we were finally pulled over.
Before I tell that story, let me tell you something a little more about the cops there. Most of them hitchhike around and do not have vehicles. So they will stand at major intersections and just wave people over if they see you doing something wrong. Usually people get pulled over for crossing solid lines and mainly at major intersections.
Well, I think that’s exactly what I did. I crossed the line. I don’t recall it but the cop said I did. And then he took my registration and licence (be sure to have both on you at all times when driving) and would not give them back. He told me that I would have to go to Managua to get them back in a day. Well that wasn’t going to work for me so I asked if I could pay the “fine” there. He said no and then walked away. After a bit more back and forth he finally just asked for $40. I was feeling pissed so I told him that I could only pay $20. He shook his head and said $40 again. So I paid it, he gave me back my licence and I was on my way. It was basically a bribe, because that money went straight into his pocket and he never recorded the interaction. I was extremely shaken and angry, even though the interaction went fairly smoothly. It was strange to see that blatant abuse of power so clearly. But then my friend reminded me that the same thing happens in the U.S. but it’s more convoluted. At least in Nicaragua you could just pay and get on with your day. In the U.S. it goes on your record, you have to go to court and then finally you end up paying even more for traffic violations that never amount to a violation of anyone else’s rights.
Other than the cops I found my interactions pleasant. It was sad to see how much poverty there was in Nicaragua. Although it seemed like everyone had plenty to eat, they mainly lived in shanty towns. The best place I stayed at was like the worst ghetto here in Atlanta. At least in appearance. As far as safety goes, many of the cities have private armed guards that guard almost every street at night. I was not witness to crime the entire time and felt generally safe in the cities, especially during the day.
In the country it seems like everyone carries a large knife or machete, which can be intimidating. I got the shot below of a young boy running along the highway with a machete in his hand. That shot really summarizes my experience with the people of Nicaragua. Obviously the boy had the machete for farming purposes and lives in relatively poor conditions but is absolutely no threat to me. In fact if we had broken down right then I am sure he would have been the first eager helper.
I walked away from Nicaragua with a lot less fear, which was the very positive effect of my trip. Experiencing and facing my fears there helped me to appreciate where I live more and also not be so afraid of traveling to other countries and cultures.
There was another unexpected and more present side effect of seeing how people live in a third world country. I became depressed about how much I have available to me and how dissatisfied I am with it. I can not imagine living in the conditions that they live in. I feel trapped even though I live an upper middle class life. I am not sure if they feel more trapped than me, but I know many of them have no chance of escaping their conditions. It depressed me because I was unsure if it was them that are trapped or if it is really me. And what does trapped mean anyway? Not being able to travel? I can do that. They can too, to a degree. I think it’s more of a psychological feeling of being trapped. I don’t feel like I am reaching my potential, whatever that means. That concept has always been so vague for me that it is especially frustrating in situations like these when I have no way of defining the reasons why I feel the way I do. All I know is that I felt very dark on the last day of my trip. I spent my ride back to the airport looking out at the shanty towns and people walking along the road asking myself, “what the fuck am I complaining about?” I know that isn’t a very helpful or curious way of approaching this but it’s honestly the way I feel and have continued to feel since returning. I also felt very alone and wished I had someone with me feeling the same way I was. I hate to end on a low note but it wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t.
See all related posts here.
Since Nicaragua is pretty tropical there is an amazing variety of flora and fauna. The birds were by far the most interesting. It was difficult to get good pictures of them because they were all extremely shy. Fortunately I had my 300mm lens with me so I got some great shots.
There was a darker side to the animals in Nicaragua. Everywhere you go there are bugs. And not just flies and mosquitoes (which actually weren’t as bad as Atlanta) but huge scorpions, centipedes and spiders. Absolutely nasty. My friend’s girlfriend found a scorpion curled up in her bra, we found another scorpion crawling on our luggage, a HUGE wolf spider (4″ across) in our bathroom and a fucking giant tarantula in the corner of our little house on the island. We were told it could have been a deadly variety, but I have no idea. Being the gringo that I am, I was always shaking a little after each of our run-ins with one of these creatures.
But there were also some beautiful insects and geckos.
And also farm animals on every road. Even right in the cities.
And finally, the Flora. So many beautiful tropical plants.
Our destination for the next four days in Nicaragua was at a place called Hotel Omaja. Hotel Omaja is run by a gringo named Jaime and he has carved out a piece of paradise on Ometepe.
Below is a time lapse I put together over the four days I was there. I would just set my camera up and let it roll while I laid in a hammock and drank rum and cervesa.
The first day I was there our friend who invited us out had to get back to her town so I rented a motorcycle and had a dangerous and fun ride across the island. I felt much more in control on my drive back, mainly because I was not responsible for another human’s life, so I was able to speed down the cobble stone road and enjoy the views of the volcano.
While I was out my friend and his girlfriend went horse back riding up a gorge to see a waterfall. Unfortunately since I was out I did not get to join them, but they said they saw some amazing panoramic views. They both were pretty exhausted so I could tell that my motorcycle ride was nothing compared to what they experienced.
We were treated like royalty at the restaurant, which is part of Hotel Ometepe. They serve a variety of dishes, made mostly from meat, rice, beans and other veggies but they also have some American food if you get tired of Nicaraguan cuisine. The meals are all under $5 for the most part and are plenty filling. Beer (Tona or Victoria) was about $1 and rum (Flor de Cana) was $8 for half a bottle. So, I ate and drank and read and slept in a hammock. It was the most relaxed I have felt in years, which gave me plenty of time to feel everything I have needed to be feeling in my life (which I’ll probably do a completely different post about later on after I have reflected more).
The weather was perfect and we were actually the only guests there until the last day when only one more gringo showed up. So we had the place to ourselves and a piece of paradise that I will certainly be back to someday.
We also visited a place down the road called Ojo de Agua, which is a nice natural spring. It is pretty touristy but still nice to relax in the refreshing and cool water under huge tropical trees. I didn’t have my camera with me that day unfortunately.
The flora and fauna there was also interesting and sometimes creepy. I’ll write more about that in my next post.
See all related posts here.
Being the gringo that I am, I decided to rent a car. I thought that it would make it easier to get around and that we could see more places in the short week that we were visiting. While this is most certainly true, I am not sure it was the best idea in hindsight. We rented from Avis and the total came out to $280. You think you can get a rental for around $140 but with all of the taxes and required insurance the price will certainly be double. Fortunately the attendant at the airport spoke English so we were able to get the car without too much hassle. We received a tiny Toyota Yaris, which was the least expensive package. The trunk was big enough for three peoples luggage, barely. It was also noticeably different than the other cars driving in the street, which were mainly old beat up pickup trucks with diesel engines. So we stuck out a bit. Also, despite only having 33,000 km on the odometer, the gearbox sounded more like 200,000.
One thing I did read before the trip was to NEVER drive at night in Nicaragua. There were a number of reasons for this. One is that crime is higher at night and cars full of gringos have been stopped at intersections by machete yielding locals and robbed of all of their possessions. While this is most certainly not common, we did hear of a car full of gringos being robbed the week before. Another reason for not driving at night is that most of the cars and motorcycles do not have working lights. So you suddenly come up on an old pickup, motorcycle and sometimes an ox pulled cart (seriously) and can come close to hitting them. There are also drunken bike riders and pedestrians that do not use the shoulder well. Finally the roads can have giant pot holes in them and “sleeping policemen” which are the biggest speed bumps you have ever seen. If you hit one at over 5 mph your car will launch and either crash or have the undercarriage torn off. Fortunately our night driving trip was fairly uneventful. We did see the hazards of cars without lights and drunken pedestrians, but were able to avoid them.
The highway we took from Managua (the main city) to Granada (a tourist town) was fairly well maintained and you could average about 50-60 kph. It took about an hour or so to get to Granada. Once you are in a town like Granada, get ready for many intersections and no road rules. Everyone just drives and honks constantly. The honking is normal and just meant to warn people that a car is coming. In fact if you do drive just practice honking before intersections and as you approach bike riders or ox carts. Just a couple quick toots and people will get out of your way. The taxi drivers live by their own rules and are insane. Just let them do their thing and get out of their way. The buses are just like giant taxis and you just need to give them room too. They do not seem to budge much.
Granada was a pretty crappy little city. Not much to say about it. Maybe we missed the best parts but it was basically like a ghetto in Southern California. There were some pretty things about it but it was mainly dirty and busy and full of vendors trying to get gringos to lighten their load.
After staying the night there we hit the Pan American highway down to Ometepe. That drive was a little less stressful since it was daytime and there was not a terrible amount of traffic. I spent most of my day with the camera out of the window taking pictures of the locals.
The major political party in Nicaragua is the Sandinistas, which is basically a socialist group. They have huge propaganda signs and you can tell the supporters towns by the red and black painted poles.
Sometimes you will see a house with Nintendo and Playstation characters painted on the side. Apparently a few kids own these gaming systems and will charge the locals to come play.
We finally made it to the port to Ometepe and got the car on a boat to go to the volcanic island. Getting on the boat was a bit of a hassle, but fortunately we had our local friend with us to translate most of the process. It was about $70 (American) to get the car on the boat and back, and maybe $4 or $5 per person plus lots of weird fees and taxes for tourists. You can see our car in the lower left corner and how tightly we had to pull it onto the boat. I was certainly worried about my deposit now.
The boat ride was pretty rocky, but only an hour or so. The views were spectacular and the weather was perfect. The air is subtropical feeling, with an elevated humidity mixed with 70 degree air. The island is in the middle of a lake that actually has sharks in it. We didn’t see any life from the boat, but the views of the volcano were exciting.
Once we got into port we drove through a small town and onto a beautifully paved cobble stone path that went around the first island. The traffic was fairly light and consisted mainly of motorcycles, Toyotas, oxen and horses.
We then crossed over to the island we were staying on for the next four days only to find the road was unpaved. And by unpaved I mean only take a 4×4 on this road unpaved. Our little Yaris did surprisingly well despite the many times it bottomed out. We were regretting not spending the $80 for the 4×4 at this point. I do not recommend doing what we did.
Finally we showed up at Hotel Omaja, which will be the subject of my next post.
Do I recommend renting a car in Nicaragua? Maybe. Be prepared to spend more than you would for taxis and buses. Be prepared to have run-ins with the police (a topic of another future post). Be prepared for just about the worst driving conditions of your life. Be prepared to be a defensive driver. When I go to Nicaragua again, I think I might either rent a 4×4, hire a driver or take a taxi to one location and get around with public transport the entire week. If you are a gringo without the stomach for driving in these conditions, then just get a taxi. Most of the stress of the trip was on the road.
I did have a case of Stockholm syndrome for that car by the end of the trip though. That Yaris is a captor and a survivor.
See all related posts here.
The most common question I got before and during my travel to Nicaragua was, “Why Nicaragua?” This question was usually said in the tone of voice of someone asking the question, “What in the hell are you thinking?”
As I said before, this was my first true experience out of the United States. My roommate has a former roommate who has lived in Nica for the past 2 years (working with the Peace Corps). A few months ago, out of the blue, she invited my roommate, his girlfriend and I down to visit her. When my roommate asked if I wanted to go I answered with an emphatic, “Yes!” I didn’t think much at the time what I was getting myself into. I just knew that Nicaragua was not the United States and that was enough for me. So we booked the flight and a few months later boarded an international flight to Nicaragua.
I felt a little nervous a week before leaving but nothing more than any other trip. On the night before the trip I experienced this feeling of utter terror and suddenly the tone of voice people were using when asking me about why I was going on this trip suddenly became amplified in my brain. What the hell was I thinking?
Fortunately there was no turning back. The tickets were booked and I was leaving the next morning to go to a third world country without knowing much about it. I had nightmares about driving around in a place that looked like Mexico and being robbed and taken hostage. I woke up a little shaky but still willing to go.
Why I went seemed simple at first. But I found out that it was much more psychologically complex than just, “because I wanted to see something outside of the U.S.A.” I will lace the insights I had into the following posts about my journey.
See all related posts here.
