Life and Times in Somoto

What a week. We returned from Somoto on Thursday after several days of whirlwind introductions and new sites to see. It is now safe to say we are absolutely in love with Somoto. The city is much quieter than expected (quieter than our tiny training towns) and the people are friendly as can be. The current mayor (on his way out in November) has spent the last 5 years really pushing Somoto forward. For his efforts, we arrived to find a new market, new public pool, new soccer stadium, a beautiful tree lined boulevard into the center of town, a new mayor’s office, and, most importantly, a city immaculately clean and fresh. Things definitely seem on the up and up in Somoto. The progress, coupled with the incredible efforts of all of the charitable orgninzations, tells us our time in Somoto will only lead to more good things.

Our host family is great. Akhnaton and Silvia, in their mid-thirties, are great cooks, keep a beautiful house, and have a collection of movies that would make my dad blush. Their two kids, Adriana (10) and Ana Sophia (4) are a handful at times, but they are an incredible resource for clear, accurate Spanish. Our room is comfortable, cool, and has just the right amount of privacy. Peace Corps mandates we live with them for 6 weeks before finding our own “casita”.” Who knows if they’ll be able to get rid of us after that.

As for work opportunities, we found ourselves striking out on our own to start relationships with non-profit organizations in the area. Officially, Jess is working with the State Health Department and I’m working for the City Health Center, but we have the freedom to pick up projects all over the city and outlining communities. Peace Corps calls these “secondary projects,” which really only means we need to put aside at least a few hours a week with our official project colleagues.

Jess and I visited a local extension of the University of Leon and sat in on an English class. We feel this is going to be a great resource for us when we start our youth groups or when we need volunteers for other projects. The extension is only 2 years old, so hopefully we can grow with it and help build the bond between the university and the local community.

Thursday morning we visited The Canyon of Somoto, one of the few draws for tourists to the city. Let me tell you that this canyon alone is worth a plane ticket from the States. Unfortunately, it’s quite a hike from the Carretera Panamericana to the mouth of the canyon and Jess and I found ourselves struggling just to make it back to Somoto in one piece. That’s probably the main reason the city hasn’t been able to really develop the location as a tourist spot: it’s incredibly inaccessible. At the same time, for those who are able to make the hike, the reward is well worth the trouble. The Canyon is a beautifully clean, tranquil place where a true adventurer can find enough nooks and crannies to get lost for hours, if not days. It’s sad that it’s inaccessibility is probably the main factor keeping the Canyon so much more perfect than other points of natural interest in Nicaragua.

All in all, we couldn’t be happier, and we invite anyone and everyone reading our blog to book that plane ticket, reserve a room at the Hotel Panamericano, and come experience beautiful Somoto!

To enter the canyon you have to take a row boat. The walls are two steep to walk.

Jess made a friend during our time in Somoto. Here is her friend examining a piece of orange she gave him. I won´t include the photo of her friend realizing it was an orange and not something more exciting....like a graham cracker. He didn´t like bananas either.

Sandinista rally as the country prepares for mayoral elections on November 4th, coincidentally. Somoto will be sad to see it´s current mayor leave, but law dictates that no one can serve back to back terms, although can be reelected after a 1 term haitus.

Isn´t she lovely? Free liquado to the person who can guess what she´s doing in this photo. Another free liquado to the person who can tell me what a liquado is.