Pictorial of the last 4 days in Nicaragua

 

A group of students at Edgar Arbizu School in Managua. This school was in fairly good shape, but the roof had holes in it, and there was a lot of infrastructure damage. They had to put a wall around the exterior, and extra security on the windows, as previously they had problems with armed robbers with guns going into the classrooms, and stealing the children's bags, money, and food. This photo started out with two children, and more and more wanted to join in

I stayed at my Spanish teacher's mother for the weekend, as my room in the main city was not finished yet. She lived in a small village about a 60 minute walk uphill to Catarina. I walked with the teacher's son Emerson to the town on Saturday, and I cannot believe that children need to walk so far to school everyday.

Laguna de Apoyo: I walked around this lake to get to Catarina. One of the best views of the lake is a 5 minute walk from where I am staying. The lake was a result of a volcanic crater.

Tito's Cafe: I found a great place to have snacks in Catarina. They made an amazing iced lemonade that was great. I have been trying to ease myself into the Nica water slowly, and thus far have not had any problems. I know that my lucky streak will soon come to an end, as it always does.

Catarina is a beautiful little town. It has a population of 5700 people. There are numerous little eateries and shops sprinkled throughout. It will be a nice place to live for a few weeks while learning Spanish.

 

Many horses for tourism, and also for day to day life (transport, work) are scattered throughout Caterina. It is common to see tuk tuks (motos), cars, bikes, and horses all on the same road.

This is the typical public bus that you will see in Nicaragua. They are famous for recycling the schoolbuses from North America that are more than 10 years old. They are given a new life in Nicaragua. These buses are often painted different colours, and transport a large number of people to school, and work everyday. The flashing stop signs and blinkers are still operational and are used when the bus stops, but in Nicaragua, no one follows these signs.

Children posing for a picture in the bullfighting "arena" in Catarina. Every Sunday they have bull fights. The children were just using the premesis as a playground.

San Juan de Oriente - is a town that is famous for their pottery and handicrafts. In 2000 an earthquake destroyed most of kilns in their neighbourhood, but according to Lonely Planet, Nicaraguan businesses donated 200 new kilns to the community so that they could continue their livelihood. This is about a 10 minute walk from where I am staying.