What a weekend!

Jess and I are finally starting to develop somewhat of a concrete weekly schedule, so look for a detailed account of our current work activities sometime soon. Also, I know Mrs. Lyttle’s class is patiently waiting a response from their interviewee. It’s on it’s way!

Today I thought I’d recount the spectacular weekend we had. On Saturday Jess and I went with a local nature guide and friend, Edith, to a beautiful farm on the top of a mountain. This farm raises cattle for a cooperative of farmers and agriculturalists in the area. The mayor of Somoto is the current administrator of the farm, so he goes up the mountain every Saturday to make sure everything is in order. This week’s trip also involved a yearly vaccine for all of the cattle.

We left at 8:30, traveling in a pick up truck. Peace Corps actually prohibits us from riding in the backs of trucks, do to the obvious safety concerns. However, it’s nearly impossible to go anywhere or accomplish anything outside of the community without breaking this rule. So, we choose our battles, use discretion, and cross our fingers that our bosses won’t find out. Probably not that smart of an idea to write that on a blog that anyone in the world can read, but oh well…

The farm would only be about 45 minutes from Somoto if the road were paved. Even less if it were flat. However, neither are the case in this situation and we found ourselves traveling for a good hour and a half to get to the top of the mountain. I don’t think we’ve described the majority of the roads here, but let’s just say you’d never be able to pass in anything less than a 4 wheel drive, extremely high truck. The most popular vehicles here are Toyotas, with the Land Cruiser and Helix in the 1 and 2 spots. The Helix is a beautiful extended cab pick up truck that really is as mean as it looks. They don’t sell them in the States, but there’s probably more than 100 just in Somoto, alone.

Anyway, upon reaching the farm, the Mayor and the local workers began the vaccination process. You’ll see some pictures of that below. Jess, Edith, and I saddled up and explored the farm. Yes, we saddled up. It was my first time on a horse in at least 10 years, about the same for Jess. However, we’d both seen enough Western movies (just watched Silverado last week) to look authentic. I even got mine up to a gallop a couple of times. That was scary.

Edith told us all about the ecology of the area. We think of Nicaragua and Central America as a land of tropical rain forests (of which there are plenty), but once you get high enough in the mountains the foliage looks a lot like it does in New York or New Jersey. There are pine trees, oak trees, and your basic run of the mill grasses. There are also some strange plants, like this cactus that grows all over the rocks.

Or this stuff that looks like a fern. It’s called “Barba de Viejo,” or, “Old Man’s Beard.” It’s very soft and could almost work in a Santa costume during Christmas.

Anyway, we had a few hours to explore before the vaccination was done. We saw some beautiful views, that’s for sure. It was a little sad that Astro couldn’t come, but we had no idea what it would be like so we erred on the side of caution. Don’t worry, though. He’ll be getting up there as soon as we have a free Saturday.

Sunday we experienced our first downpours of the rainy season. The rain was deafening, the streets were flooded, and the lightening was huge. The next day our coworkers described it as a “refreshing spring shower.” Hmm…. I guess we’ll see if it gets worse.

We passed the day at home cleaning and organizing. Astro appreciated the attention.