The Ragfields' Christmas Vacation

Merry Christmas Mr. F
Sunday 17 Dec 2006

On Saturday night before we left Ometepe, Sandino (yes, one of the guys who works at the Hacienda is actually named Sandino) came to our room with the bottoms of some sawed off water bottles that he had filled with bits of chicken and some greenish tablets. He explained that it was for the rat, and he helped us place the bottles in strategic locations along Mr. F's usual path. At some point in the middle of the night, I heard Mr. F eating what I can only assume was the poison-laced chicken. Although a non-lethal, vegetarian solution would have been preferable, I was surprised at how little remorse I felt. At the time my only thought was "Merry Christmas, Mr. F."

We left the next morning to begin the first leg of our journey. We witnessed why the local buses are called "chicken buses"-- the woman sitting across from us carried on a live chicken in a wicker basket. We had been well forewarned that livestock is often transported via the local bus system, but I had yet to see it. I kept wondering why the woman was taking a live chicken to Moyogalpa, and my best guess was that it was the chicken's birthday. At any rate, once we arrived at the dock in Moyo, the ferry ride was pretty smooth. In fact I kept glancing at my watch wondering when we were finally going to start moving until I realized that we actually were moving. The most turbulent part of the first leg was a fist fight that broke out between two guys on the chicken-bus from Rivas to Granada. Rob and I speculated what could have been the cause of the fight: I thought it was probably over money, Rob thought it was about a girl.

When we got to Granada, we stayed at a place called Hospedaje Cocibolca . I was totally proud of myself that I had called the place and managed to reserve a room, all in Spanish. Maybe it was just because we've been living in such a rural area, but the hospedaje seemed extremely posh: our own room with a fan and private bathroom for $13 a night. The best part was that the shower was cool rather than cold, which seemed like a luxury. The only problem was that sometimes the water and/or power in Granada would randomly cut out, so you had to carry a flashlight and just enjoy a shower whenever you could.

That first night in Granada we went to the Bearded Monkey and had vegetarian chili plus a brownie with vanilla ice cream on top. The whole thing was so good I almost cried. The food at the field station is really good, but I hadn't realized how tired I am of rice and beans.


Pictures of Granada






Monday 18 December 2006
Masaya Market

After discovering that the Hospedaje Cocibolca serves the greasiest pancakes (fried in oil?) we'd ever eaten, Rob and I set out to figure out how to get to the market at Masaya. This is the place to be if you want any kind of Nicaraguan souvenir imaginable. We happened upon a fleet of mini-buses that ran service from Granada to Managua and would let us off in Masaya-- all for 18 cordovas (just over $1). The whole thing was surprisingly easy, and once we arrived in Masaya, the markets were not nearly as frantic as I remembered. We did some shopping and then found a little restaurante that served cheese sandwiches and salad. The salad (wilty ice-berg lettuce) was topped with the quintessential Nicaraguan cheese: white squares of some of the grossest tasting stuff I can imagine. I picked out the vegetables and left the cheese. A hungry looking boy kept hovering near us, trying to get our attention. Finally I couldn't pretend to ignore him anymore, and he asked if he could eat the leftover cheese from our salad. It broke my heart. I handed him the plate, and he dove into those little white squares of cheese. He thanked us profusely. "Psst... chica," he whispered to me again, and asked if he could have the rest of my drink. Thinking of all the terrible things that the US has done to Nicaragua, I couldn't refuse. He thanked me even more profusely and asked God to bless me forever.

Tuesday 19 December 2006
Laguna de Apoyo

My guidebook said that this volcanic crater lake is at least 200m deep, and the lowest point in Central America. Plus, the surrounding jungle has capuchin, howler, and spider monkeys. I had really hoped to visit the nearby Laguna while we were in Granada, and much to our luck, Rob and I randomly found a shuttle bus headed that way, so we joined them for a day-trip. When we finally arrived at the Laguna, it was so peaceful and tranquilo. The rough waves made me wish I was better at swimming, but I had fun nonetheless.

Pictures of the Laguna




Wednesday 20 December 2006
Long Journey

After the greasiest breakfast imaginable, Rob and I and all our luggage hopped on one of those snazzy shuttle vans to Managua, Once we finally got to the airport, everything went more smoothly than I could even have imagined. I had pictured mass chaos during the holiday travel season as all the rich Nicaraguans headed to Miami for Christmas. But there was nothing of the sort. There were no crowds or long lines, and everything was totally tranquilo. We even got served a special vegetarian meal on the airplane. They gave us a plate of steamed vegetables, a salad (I'm talking Romaine lettuce here!), a roll, and a piece of cake. Plus the inflight movie was good. I don't know what it was called, but it was a documentary about a high school girls' basketball team in Seattle and the struggles that one particular girl had to go through to make it there. So fly Delta everybody. Especially if you are a vegetarian!

At any rate, we finally made it to our final destination, Rob's parents' house, about 2 in the morning. As I've said before, I really lucked out in the in-law department. Without complaint, Rob's parents picked us up at O'Hare about 11pm and drove us back to their place. They both worked the next day, on very little sleep. What's even more, when I woke up the next morning, there was cereal and soymilk waiting for me! A hot shower, plus my favorite breakfast all before 9am-- it was shaping up to be a really great day.

21 December 2006
The Holiday of My People

The winter solstice: the shortest day, but the longest night. The return to light. Each day following is a little longer than the last. Of all the equinoxes and solstices, this one is my favorite.

As I said, the day began with a hot shower in a clean bathroom: it was surreal. This was followed by my first taste of Silk Soymilk http://www.silksoymilk.com/ since August 8. Heavenly. And the day just kept getting better. I met Martin at school for lunch; when I saw him it suddenly hit me how much I missed him. We had Thai food and talked for hours about howler monkeys and trees. It was so good to see you again, El Negro. You're a good friend.

Then we met at the department and saw the secretaries and of course S.L. I was somewhat dreading that initial visit with S.L., when of course he said, "Melissa, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Nicaragua collecting your dissertation data?" But after a few hours of regaling him with tales of Wrinkle Belly, Nathan Jr., Spud, and Uno, I think he was assuaged that I am actually doing my project. It was good to see him, plus I even got hug #5 from him. (Jodi: 5 hugs from S.L. during my graduate career... is this a new record or something?)

We met Cara, John, Aimee, Brett, and the kids for dinner. Wow, it was great to see them! There was no better way to spend the winter solstice. I couldn't get over how much Little Miss C and Mr. E had grown while I was away for just 4-1/2 months! We all stayed up way too late talking, drinking some rum, and catching up. Rob and I spent the night at Cara and John's house--which, recall, used to be our house for 5 years. It was surreal to see our house again, only it wasn't our house anymore. It looks like Cara and John are really at home there-- it looks more like a home than it ever did when we lived there. It seems like they belong there more than we ever did, and it made me happy to see the house in such good hands.

At any rate, I should sign off: many things to do and many more people to see. I will post as I have a chance during the holidays. Its going to be a whirlwind tour of friends and family these next several days. I'm sure I'll need to return to the land of lakes and volcanoes when it is over, just so I can have a rest with the monkeys. Thanks for reading!